


Knowing You is for the Better

by Boat_dock



Category: Legacies (TV 2018), The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/F, Slow Burn, freinds to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 34,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24704074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boat_dock/pseuds/Boat_dock
Summary: Hope dedicates herself to rescuing the Saltzmans from the prison world where they are trapped, but when she ends up sacrificing more than she planned how will she learn to adjust to her new reality and the blossoming relationship that comes when she least expects it.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman, Hosie - Relationship
Comments: 29
Kudos: 250





	1. Chapter 1

The entire school was in chaos, it had been since Alyssa trapped the Saltzmans in the prison world, but now with the full moon approaching Hope could finally save them. She’d been inconsolable all month, refusing to leave her spellbooks, searching religiously for a way to save them. And she found it just in time. It would take an insane amount of power, but power was always one of Hope’s specialties, plus she had an entire school full of witches backing her, together they could do it.

They had ten minutes till the full moon crested, the wolves were downstairs locked in the transition spaces ready to turn, the witches were outside preparing the spell and the vampires were running around the school doing god knows what and making way too much noise. Hope felt like she was the only adult in the school these days.

That was about to change, however, because Mayor Donavan and Sheriff Mac walked through the front doors with Ethan and Maya not far behind. She didn’t have time for this, the mayor isn’t her biggest fan and she couldn’t deal with him right now, she had a spell to do and Saltzmans to save.

“Where’s Alaric, we need to speak to him,” the mayor’s eyes didn't meet Hope’s while he spoke to her, so she looked past him. Sherif Mac was scanning the entire school, Maya clung to her brother like she was holding him up and Ethan just looked terrified.

“Sorry he’s not here right now and we’re all kinda busy so it might be best if you left,” Hope tried to keep her words polite but the mayor had to be insane bringing townies here on a full moon, the screams would start any minute and they definitely don’t need to hear that. How could she explain to them that Dr. Saltzman and his daughters are trapped in a prison world with the twins' crazy relative and right now that was her priority, not whatever politics they came to talk about.

The mayor seemed to realize that Hope was his best option right now,” Look Ethan here triggered his werewolf curse this month and we need your help.” 

“What?” Hope tried her best not to scream. If she was capable of getting a migraine she would have one right now.

Before she had the chance to say anything else Raphael and a man Hope had never seen before burst through the doors nearly taking out Ethan and a group of vampires that happened to be walking past. His eyes landed on Hope and light up,” Hey long time no see Mikaelson. We were kind of worried we weren’t going to make it before the crest of the moon, but it looks like we’re just in time.” 

“Raph I am so glad to see you,” Hope grabbed his arm and pulled,” This is Ethan a baby wolf, I need you to take him to the cellar with you and talk him through it.” with that she turned to Ethan, trying her best to be caring as she placed a hand on his arm and lowered her voice,” Ethan I wish I could be there to help you with this but I can’t so all I can say is that this is gonna hurt like hell but don’t fight it, that will only make it worse. “ his eyes went wide and he paled slightly. Hope didn’t have time to wonder what exactly happened when he triggered his curse but she made a note to ask him about it later. 

Raphael was already leading Ethan down the hall when Maya interjected,” Wait, I want to go with him, he shouldn’t be alone.” 

Mayor Donovan spoke up before Hope could,” Absolutely not!” he screamed positioning himself between the two siblings. She knew that the two were close but the look in Maya’s eyes when he did that was one that a Mikaelson could relate with.

Sheriff Mac was oddly quiet through the whole thing, maybe she’s still in shock about the whole supernatural community, which meant Hope had to handle this herself. “He won’t be alone Maya, there are dozens of wolves down there all of whom have been through exactly what Ethan is going through right now. He’ll be ok.” 

Hope wished she could do something to ease the worries the family was going through but Mg appeared behind her using vamp speed to enter the room unnoticed.

“Witches are ready with the spell Hope,” he announced before he read the room and as soon as he did his eyes went wide and he was gone again, hopefully, headed toward the woods where the witches were waiting with the spell.

“What spell?” the Mayor growled. It was no shock to anyone that he hated supernaturals and to him, Hope was the worst of the worst. If he found out Dr. Saltzman wasn’t here who knew what would happen to the school. It was Hope’s place to protect it and all its students. That’s why she turned away from him and walked out the front door to the woods with her head held high. She knew he would follow her but at least she was getting him away from the school. The witches in the woods could defend themselves.

The moon was high overhead as they made their way swiftly through the woods. She was doing her best to block out the Mayor’s voice behind her throwing accusations, but it was even harder to ignore Maya’s eyes on her as they moved. Hope was used to people not trusting her it came with her name, but what she hated was being the center of attention. It’s been happening more and more now that she’s taken over the role of school hero but that didn’t mean she was getting used to it.

They entered the clearing and everyone fell quiet. Twenty-five witches stood in a circle of salt and flame. Kaleb, Mg, and Landon stood to the side with Alyssa Chang who was tied to a tree, Hope had taken extra care to make sure she couldn’t do magic and interrupt the spell. All eyes were on them and she could practically feel the mayor shrink beneath them. 

They stopped moving as Hope continued forward. The circle parted for her and Hope linked hands with them. She started the spell, muttering under her breath and the others followed suit. She’d given them the incantation two days ago to memorize while they waited for the full moon. The magic flowed between them, she’d forgotten what it  was like to have a coven sometimes, not that she was ever truly accepted by the French quarter witches but she’d done her fair share of magic with her family and she hated to admit how much she missed it. This school was a family, always had been, they fought for each other and there was nothing that would stop her from getting the Saltzmans back. 

There was a flash of light. Just like when they disappeared from the cry pile in the twins' room a month ago. Hope squinted against it but still could see nothing. And then they were there, the twins were holding each other up while Dr. Saltzman stood in front of them with a crossbow aimed at a fourth figure.

Hope wanted to cry with relief, seeing her friends alive and safe, but she couldn’t just yet. They’d gotten one more Gemini witch then they’d bargained for. Hope knew the stories, he murdered his family and tried to kill the twins before they were born. Hope didn’t know what his master plan was but she was sure he had one and Hope was going to stop him before he had the chance to put it to action.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn’t take Hope long to recognize Kai Parker, just about as long as it took him to vamp speed to the other side of the clearing outside of the circle of witches. Hope rushed to the Saltzmans wanting nothing more than to throw her arms around them but she controlled herself and instead placed herself protectively in front of them. 

Kai had a crazy look in his eyes, he was finally a free man and he wasn’t going to waste a minute of it. “The sweet smell of freedom,” Kai sang, taking in everything around him, “ and now I get the pleasure of killing you three in the real world, where everyone you care about can watch.” 

Hope’s instincts kicked in, protect, defend, keep her people safe no matter what,” Permission?” she growled, shifting into her fighting stance like stepping into another skin. She’d spent years training and learning to fight and he was just another monster to face. If there was one thing she was good at it was killing monsters.

“Granted,” Dr. Saltzman answered, turning his crossbow back toward Kai. Hope turned ever so slightly, just enough that she could see the twins behind her while still keeping Kai in her sights. She needed them to answer too, she had to make sure that her killing their uncle was what they wanted. There was a bloody gash on Lizzie’s head and Josie was holding her up. They locked eyes communicating silently. Then Josie turned to Hope and gave a single nod. Permission. 

The wind started howling, Hope wasn’t sure if it was her magic of Kai’s. “You’re going to let a student fight for you Ric, you’re weaker than I remember.” Kai laughed. He had absolutely no idea who she was and Hope was going to use that to her advantage. 

“What too scared to fight a teenage girl,” Hope edged forward, picking the fight. Without a response Kai attacked, It started with fire, of course, it was fire, why wasn’t she surprised. She never even heard him utter a spell.

She felt the heat against her skin just before she blocked the spell. On instinct, she flung her magic and threw him into a tree, a small tree but still a tree, and it cracked on impact. The wood hurt him but now he was just really pissed off. Next thing Hope knew he was in front of her and gripping her arms, there was a crunch and a roaring pain in her arm.

“Come on Ric are you really going to let this kid die for you.” He broke her arm, this asshole broke her arm. She fought the pain and yanked herself away without crying out. He’d given her an idea. All she had to do was break every other bone in her body.

She planted her hands on the ground and focused on the moon above her, it was easy and this pain was manageable. She’d never turned in front of this many people and she would have no clothes to change into when this was over, but she couldn’t let herself dwell on that right now. One by one her bones broke until the shift was complete.

Everything was sharper now, including the look of horror on Kai’s face when he saw her. He was fast as a heretic but she was faster, her teeth were around his throat before he could move. All she could see was the blood, red and thick, it coated her fur.

He fell to the ground with a thud and his body was already turning grey, a part of her knew she should feel guilty but she didn’t. She did what needed to be done. The voices behind her caught her attention and she turned toward them. The witches had all moved back, the Saltzmans were huddled together and the mayor had just pulled a gun. Unless it had wooden  bullets it wouldn’t have been much help against a heretic. Except the gun wasn’t pointed at Kai, it was aimed straight at her.

She lowered herself to the ground, not sure if she was preparing to attack or showing her submission. Either way, it didn’t do any good.

It happened in slow motion, Mayor Donovan pulling the trigger, a bang, and then a bullet buried in her side. It was her turn to collapse and now her blood she was covered in. She knew it was bad when she couldn’t feel the pain and heard only muffled screams around her. Next thing she knew Dr. Saltzman was draping a jacket over her, she couldn’t make out what he was saying but she saw his lips moving. Josie was there too, and Lizzie they kept a good distance back until Hope changed back. Then they were on their knees by her side. Josie gripped her hand tightly and tears were dripping down her face.

“She should be healing. Why isn’t she healing dad?” Josie sobbed out. The edges of Hope’s vision were turning black but she needed Josie to know that she would be alright.

“It’s ok,” she choked out and squeezed her hand hard before her world went black.

Hope was limp-in Dr. Saltzman’s arms as the family turned to bring her back to the school. The woods were silent but far from still. The witches reformed their circle but this time around the Mayor, Sheriff, and Maya. The twins rushed toward them and slipped inside, facing the Mayor head-on, he was like an uncle to them and he just killed one of their best friends in cold blood.

“You killed her,” Josie whispered, bawling her hands into fists at her side. If she had any magic in her system who knows what he would’ve done to him in that moment. 

“Girls, she was a wolf coming right at us, she would have killed us,” he spoke confidently, he spoke like a politician.

“No, Hope has control as a wolf,” Lizzie spits back,” You know that.” the witches around them joined hands.

“Why don’t you just call your friends off then we can talk about it.” He was right, as much as she hated to admit it.

She took a shaky breath as she turned to face her friends,” guys we can’t hurt him, we can’t stupe to his level.” Josie tried to imagine what Hope would have said, she would have been able to diffuse this situation.

“Hope was one of us,” a voice called out from the dark, Josie couldn’t see who it belonged to. “He hurt her, why shouldn’t we hurt him?”

Josie didn’t have a response because she was thinking the exact same thing. Thankfully Lizzie did,” You’re right Hope was one of us and that’s how we know that she wouldn’t want his blood on our hands. Besides, he just killed Hope Mikaelson,” everyone knew who Hope was, who her family was and what they could do,” He's already a dead man walking.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters will be getting longer as the story proceeds


	3. Chapter 3

The group walked back to the school in silence, everyone was exhausted and a little bit in shock from the last few weeks. Dr. Saltzman was in front still carrying Hope and the twins were surrounded, Kaleb and Mg walked on either side of them while Landon walked behind, though with the way he was stumbling it looked like he needed more support than the twins.

“She’s gone, I can’t believe it, she can’t be really gone,” Landon kept mumbling over and over.

“Will you please shut it muppet,” Lizzie groaned,” Hope’s going to be just fine,” Hope’s history and abilities were common knowledge around the school these days and Josie found it very strange that Landon didn’t know that she was going to come back to life. They were together, why hadn’t Hope explained to him that she couldn’t be killed. The school came into view, everything was unnervingly still, it was always strange during the full moon, but this was different.

“What?” Landon yelled, running his hands through his hair. Josie could feel her sister rolling her eyes and she did her best to repress a smile. A small part of her enjoyed knowing more about Hope than Landon did.

“She’s the tribrid,” Lizzie emphasized,” she dies she comes back as a vampire. Feed her some human blood and she’ll be good as new, everyone knows that,” it was basic vampirism. You turn, you feed and you live forever, but things were different for Hope she wasn’t just a vampire. She was a wolf.

Josie froze and all her friends turned to her,” You alright Jo?” Mg asked, grabbing her arm lightly.

Josie blinked herself back to reality,” yeah, yeah I’m ok, but I have to go. Lizzie, do you have the keys? I need the car.” her body started moving without her control while her friends stood stunned.

“No, I don’t have the keys, we've been trapped in the same prison together,” Lizzie jokes,” And where exactly are you going?” 

“I’ll make do without the keys,” Josie mumbled to herself. Who needs keys when you have magic,” and I’ll explain everything later I promise.” Then she was running, leaving her friends behind. It was nice to have a mission, something to focus on besides her own messed up family dynamic. She could help Hope like she helped them.

While Josie left campus everyone else went back to the school, but none of them went to bed. They all piled themselves onto couches, chairs, and pillows sitting in silence waiting for an update on Hope. Lizzie claimed an entire couch for herself while she got the cut on her head cleaned and bandaged. She was acutely aware of her Uncle Matt sitting in the corner with his head in his hands, she wasn’t sure if he felt guilty for killing Hope or worried about what that meant for his chance of survival. Lizzie didn’t really have it in her right now to empathize with him.

This silence was killing her. She should have gone with Josie, no doubt wherever she was right now it was better than sitting on her ass here. And when her mother came bursting through the doors raving about not being kept in the loop about everything that had been happening, Lizzie would have given anything to be with Josie.

Caroline’s yelling stopped when her eyes landed on Lizzie and she rushed to her daughter, throwing her arms around her and squeezing tight. As much as she missed her mom the last thing she wanted to do was explain everything that just happened, prison world included.

“Hi mom,” she said her words muffled by Caroline’s hair.

“Lizzie oh baby are you alright?” she spoke quickly, pulling back and looking at her daughter. Once she was satisfied that she was fine minus the cut on her head she said,” what about your sister, where is she?” she looked nearly frantic as she searched the crowd.

“I’m fine mom and so is Josie, she left a little while ago, she said there was something she had to do.” Lizzie could tell her mom wasn’t satisfied but she didn’t push.

“Alright, where’s your father?” That was one question Lizzie wasn’t sure how to answer. Of course, he was upstairs with Hope waiting for her to wake up but how could she tell her mom that Hope died. Her mother had always looked after Hope more than other students, her own daughters excluded, it probably had something to do with her unconventional relationship with Hope’s father.

Thankfully Mg stepped in to answer before Lizzie had to,” He’s upstairs with Hope Mrs. Forbes,” short, sweet, and polite but not revealing any unnecessary information. She should really thank him for that later.

However, this was one topic that her mom was definitely going to push,” Why,” she said sweetly,” What happened to Hope, is she ok?”

Now that the cat was out of the bag Lizzie found that she was able to talk again, deep down she knew that she should talk like Mg, try to be controlled and calm, but that wasn’t really Lizzie’s style.” Why don’t you ask our trigger happy Mayor over there,” Lizzie spit, jerking her head toward him. Caroline looked at Matt and blinked seemingly unaware of his presence until this moment.

“What’s she talking about Matt?” Caroline’s hands were on her hips and with that tone of voice, someone would have to be an idiot not to answer.

“It was an accident Care I swear,” that’s all he had to say for himself.

Lizzie exploded,” Liar!” if this had been a year ago she wouldn’t have cared about Hope, she also wouldn’t have been able to control her magic when she got this worked up, but things were different. She had genuinely been healing over the summer.

“Lizzie baby just calm down then we can figure this out,” somehow that just made things worse. Lizzie was calm, she was very calm and she didn’t need her mother telling her otherwise.

“Don’t you tell me to calm down. I’m fine, he’s the one who murdered one of our students,” alright maybe she wasn’t so calm after all,” not that you seem to care.”

Her mother stepped back reeling from the words like she got slapped in the face. Lizzie knew she should feel bad and she almost did but all her pent up anger at her mother for being gone so much was bubbling to the surface. “Elizabeth Jenna, watch your mouth young lady,” 

“Why? You’re never here mom. Why would you care about the well being of the school?” with that she left. If Josie had other things to do than so did she, there was still a dead uncle in the woods she could bury. She just needed to stay away from her mom as long as she could, or at least till everything cools off.

  
  


When Josie got back from Mystic Falls she was shocked to find her mother at home and noticeably disheveled. She froze and barely kept hold to the mug filled halfway with blood in her hand,” Mom,” she gasped and rushed to her. They wrapped their arms around each other, despite everything that was going on it was nice to be in her mother’s arms again.

“I got a call from Elena,” Caroline murmured while still holding her,” she said that you needed her blood for a spell.”

Josie pulled back,” I shouldn’t have lied but I didn’t think she would give it if she knew the truth.”

Her mom put one hand on her cheek and held tight to her other,” that was very smart and sweet of you Josie,” Josie was never good with praise but she could help the smile that spread across her face.

“Where did Lizzie go?” she asked, noticing her sister’s absence from the room.

Her mother’s face fell,” she left, we had a fight and she’s cooling off,” of course there was a fight because there hasn’t been enough drama this month. Couldn’t everything just calm down?

“Kaleb,” Josie said, speaking over her mom’s shoulder,” will you bring this up to Hope while I go find Lizzie,” she held out the cup to him and he took it without question and disappeared up the stairs.

Now Josie stepped around her mom and addressed everyone else sprawled around the room,” Thank you all for everything you’ve done today, but I really think you can all go to bed now before we all get detention for being out past curfew.” there were a few chuckles as everyone left, Josie wished that she could thank all of them personally but that would have to wait, for now, she had a twin to find.

Josie knew this would be bad when she found Lizzie sitting on the ground leaning up against a tree staring at their dead uncle. There was absolutely no reason in the world that Lizzie Saltzman would sit on the ground. She would barely even leave the  room without shoes on. Josie joined her against the tree and they sat in silence. There was a chill in the air that Josie hadn’t noticed earlier, she wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against her sister.

“Everything’s going to be alright isn’t it?” Lizzie asked, staring ahead with a strange look on her face. No everything most definitely wasn’t all right, they’d spent over a month trapped on an empty earth with their psychopath uncle, Hope had just been killed in front of their eyes by a man the twins considered family and now Lizzie and her mom were at each other's throats. She couldn't tell Lizzie all this though.

“Yeah, Liz we’re going to be ok.” she dropped her head to her twin’s shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to block out the world.

“Hope will be too. You don’t need to worry about her,” Lizzie whispered the words like she was worried about how Josie would react.

Josie sighed,” she’s just been through so much already, I don’t want her to suffer anymore.” Josie worried about everyone, she couldn’t help it. But Hope was different; she worried about Josie too. She always made sure she was ok, paid attention to her when she tried so hard to not be seen. Hope was good at disappearing too, that's how she always saw Josie.

Lizzie was quiet for a moment contemplating what to say,” I don’t know if she told you this but,” she paused and pursed her lips, Josie almost thought she wasn’t going to continue,” back when the Croatoan was attacking and we were confessing secrets, she told me she had a crush on you when we were kids,”

Josie bolted upright, the news shaking her,” What!” she exclaimed,” Why?” Hope liked her? Josie’s world was spinning, of all the bombs she was prepared to handle right now that was not one of them. Hope was her first crush and now best friend, how was Josie supposed to react to finding out that she used to have a crush on her. When the roles were reversed Hope took the news with grace and did an amazing job of easing Josie’s guilt for the fire, but that was Hope she was good under pressure, Josie not so much.

“That seems like a question for Hope, not me,” Lizzie laughed bumping her shoulder against Josie’s. She knew that Lizzie was poking fun at her reaction but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

“Well then are we going to bury him,” Josie said, motioning to the shovel laying a few feet away on the ground,” or are we going to burn him?”

“Burn definitely,” Lizzie answered. They linked hands together and muttered the spell. They stood in silence and watched the last of the Gemini witches, the leader of the Gemini coven burn to ash. Then they stood and walked back to the school.

When they got there most of the students had gone to bed but Mg and Kaleb were with their parents and the Mayor, sheriff, and her daughter Maya. The conversation halted when they walked in, and they all sat awkwardly for a moment as no one spoke.  Until Lizzie broke the silence,” We’re going to check on Hope,” was all she said then turned to walk away pulling her sister with her.

“Hope kicked everyone out of her room after she turned, Landon’s trying to talk to her now but it doesn’t sound like it’s going too well,” Kaleb called after them. The twins met eyes.

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop, Kaleb,” Josie said then the twins turned and headed to Hope’s room. 

They were nearly there when they passed Landon in the hallway,” If you’re going to see her it’s no use, she won’t let anyone in.” They stepped around him without a word and walked the last few steps to Hope’s door. Hope had fought tooth and nail to save them and Josie was going to fight twice as hard to make sure she was ok. 

Landon was watching them from a distance, obviously waiting for them to be turned away. However, before either of them could make a move to knock the door swung open.


	4. Chapter 4

Hope was standing on the far side of the room so there was a bed between her and the twins. As much as she wanted to be alone right now she needed to know that they were ok after everything that happened.

Josie’s eyes lit up when she saw Hope and she opened her mouth to speak but Hope beat her to it,” Are you ok?” she asked, trying to stop her voice from shaking.

“Are we ok?” Lizzie gaped,” What about you Hope, you actually died,” they both moved forward but she backed away. She couldn’t trust herself not around them, not around anyone. It would get better with time, she would learn control, but right now she was an unstable baby vamp. Caroline had called her family and they would be here tomorrow night to bring her home, just for a little while, till she got used to her new situation. It had been far too long since she’s seen her family or just been back to New Orleans, so maybe this would be for the best. She would miss her friends and this school but she’d come back.

“Of course I’m ok. We all knew this was coming,” she replied, motioning to herself to emphasize her point. Her becoming a vampire was inevitable, it was literally in her blood. “I mean it’s strange and different but I’ll get used to it.”

“Of course you’ll get used to it,” Josie stated,” but that’s not what we asked. We asked if you’re ok now.” Hope couldn’t help the small grin that appeared on her face. It was nice to have friends who cared enough to check on her even when she pushed them away. She’s been trying to work on the pushing people away thing but change is never easy.

“I don’t really want to talk about it but I’m willing to listen if you guys need to talk about anything.”

“We don’t really want to talk either,” Lizzie answered,” Which is why we have barricaded ourselves in your room because no one in their right mind would bust down your door to get to us tonight.” she wasn’t wrong, everyone had left pretty quickly as soon as Hope told them to. People were always afraid to come into her room, Hope was used to that, what she wasn’t used to was people using it as a sanctuary.

Hope walked swiftly to her dresser and pulled out two pairs of pajamas,” You’re always welcome here,” she said as she tossed them to the twins. Hope turned her back as they changed, doing her best to give them privacy.

When they were dressed Hope noticed the cut on Lizzie’s head,” Hey Liz, that cut on your head, do you want me to heal it?” she’s seen her Aunt Freya use a simple healing spell for things like this before.

“Thanks but no thanks, I’m steering clear of vampire blood at the moment.” 

“No blood,” Hope says,” Just a spell,” at that Lizzie nodded her head and Hope moved in to do the spell. It should have been a basic spell. One she’d been doing since she was 10, not that it was taught at school, but then the blood hit her. It was barely there and dried but the smell still caused Hope’s fangs to slide out. She stumbled back  as she felt the veins crawling down her face.” Never mind,” was all she could choke out, hoping that the twins wouldn’t notice.

Of course, they did,” Are you alright?” Josie asked in a soft voice, pushing her dark hair out of her face.

Before she could respond Lizzie cut in,” This could be good practice. Come try again Hope, this time focus on the magic, not the blood,” she was right, Hope could do this, it was a simple spell and her magic was begging to be used right now. She placed her hand on Lizzie’s forehead over the gash. Focus on the magic, not the blood she repeated to herself. With the amount of magic Hope has, Magic always came easily, most of the time she didn’t even need to speak, she could just will the magic to do what she needed. That’s what she was doing now, she pushed her magic out with a low hum in the back of her throat and focused on the magic flowing out of her.

“Wow,” Lizzie breathed, examining her newly healed head in the mirror,” you have to teach me that.” 

Hope put distance between herself and the twins by moving to her window seat on the other side of the room. “You guys take the bed, I’ll sleep over here.” 

“What no, we aren’t kicking you out of your bed, “Josie said, shocked that Hope would even suggest that,” It’s not like we haven’t all shared a bed before.” 

“Yes, but as you saw earlier I don’t have the best control right now.” Hope tried to keep her voice light, so they could move on from all this. Josie wasn’t thinking the same thing.

She was next to Hope on the window seat in seconds,” Hope you have more self-control than anyone I know. With the amount of power that you have the fact that you don’t lose it every single day is amazing. That being said,” Josie rolled up her sleeve and held out her wrist to Hope,” drink.”

“No way,” she said leaning away from Josie,” no way, am I feeding on you. Your parents would kill me.” 

“My parents will never know and I trust you, Hope.” she gulped as Josie held her eyes, once again pushing her exposed wrist toward her.

“And if anything goes wrong,” Lizzie started.

“Which it won’t,” Josie interrupted.

“Of course it won’t, but if it does I’ll be right here to stop it,” this was not happening, this could not happen. “It’s practice Hope, just like the spell, once you know you’re in control you’ll be able to relax.” 

Hope’s eyes were wide with fear as her fangs slipped out. This was a bad idea, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from biting Josie’s wrist. All thoughts left her mind and all she could think about was the blood. The hunger was overwhelming and unending, there was no way anything in the world could be this good. Hope was bordering on euphoria.

Josie’s words cut through her trance,” that’s enough Hope,” she dug her teeth in deeper,” Hope,” she ground out.

Hope pulled back and sucked in a deep breath to settle herself, Josie pulled her hand away and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. When her breathing returned to normal and her eyes looked human again Josie placed her hand on her shoulder,” Good job Hope, I knew you could do it,” they locked eyes again for a moment and all Hope could hear was Josie’s heartbeat.

“Can we go to bed now, it’s been a crazy few months and I’m beat.” against her better judgment Hope ended up sandwiched between the twins trying and failing to get some sleep. Lizzie was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, Hope could tell by her breathing. Josie, however, laid awake and silent for about half an hour.

“Hope,” she whispered in the dark,” you awake?” she shifted so she was facing Hope.

“Yeah, can’t sleep?” she asked trying to keep her voice low so she didn’t wake up Lizzie.

“No,” was all Josie answered.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Lizzie answered that question earlier, Hope realized, not Josie. Guilt pooled in Hope’s stomach as she realized just how easily she overlooked what Josie needed. She couldn’t do that again.

Josie was quiet for a moment and Hope almost thought that she fell asleep. She leaned in closer to Hope,” It’s just all so messed up,” she muttered laying her head on Hope’s shoulder,” between the prison world, Kai, and you- you died Hope, right in front of me,” Josie sniffled and Hope’s heart broke in two. She hadn’t meant to worry Josie, everything she’s done was to keep her safe.

Hope linked their hands together,” I’m here Jo and it will never happen again, literally,” her attempt at humor didn’t hit its mark, so she squeezed her hand hard. “ I don’t know if your mom told you this Jo, but your parents called my family,” she paused unsure of how to tell the brunette that she was leaving,” they’re sending me home.”

“No- no they can’t do that,” Josie stuttered. Even in the dark Hope could see the panicked look on Josie’s face.

“It’s just till I adjust,” Hope tried,” They think it’s what’s for the best.”

“When do you leave?”

“They should be here tomorrow night to pick me up,” Josie didn’t answer, instead, she dug her face into Hope’s neck, it was wet with tears. “Hey stop don’t cry,” Hope said as she pulled Josie’s face up and wiped the tears away with her thumb.

“You’re going to come back aren’t you?” Josie asked, locking eyes with Hope.

“Of course, I’ve always come back haven’t I?” Hope wasn’t expecting an answer and Josie didn’t provide one, all she did was smile. That smile warmed her like a ray of sunshine.

They stayed like that for a moment just enjoying each other’s presence, Hope didn’t think she could ever get tired of looking at Josie. When Josie broke the silence it was a complete change of subject that threw Hope for a loop,” What’s going to happen when your family gets here,” she inquired,” are they going to kill uncle Matt for what he did to you?” 

It would be a lie to say that Hope wasn’t worrying about the same thing,” Not if I can help it and don’t worry I’ve got a plan,” she replied,” but that plan starts with us getting some sleep.” if only it were that easy, even when Hope closed her eyes, Josie never did. She stared unabashedly at Hope for what felt like an eternity before Hope spoke up,” What is it Jo?” she asked, her annoyance giving way to laughter.

“You had a crush on me,” Josie snickered. It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

“Lizzie told you,” Hope groaned, turning her face away. She was honestly surprised Lizzie hadn’t told her twin before, but that didn’t mean she was prepared for the conversation that was going to follow.

“Can I ask why?”   
Hope blinked against the darkness for a moment waiting for the right words to come, but they didn’t, not her own words anyway, someone else’s,” who wouldn’t,” a grin spread across both their faces,” Now get some sleep, I’m serious.” 

They both did eventually and actually slept rather peacefully. She woke up to the sound of her bedroom door slamming with a loud bang, Josie did too, they both jumped awake and frantically looked for what caused the sound. All they found was a note left on Lizzie’s side of the bed which was surprisingly empty. Hope read the note aloud,” gone to make amends with mom, left breakfast on the table - heart Lizzie.” she was glad Lizzie had gone to talk to Caroline, but the rest of it didn’t make sense,” Wait Lizzie can’t cook.” 

“And she didn’t,” Josie answered, reaching to the bedside table and grabbing a tray.” pop-tarts and chocolate milk. Oh and a blood bag.” 

Hope laughed slightly, at least she was making an effort,” Well I’m not one to pass up breakfast in bed,” they sat and ate together, simply enjoying each other’s company. Hope figured this would be the last peaceful moment she’d have for a while, as soon as she steps outside this room, all eyes will be on her. Hope finished the pop-tart rather quickly and moved on to the blood.

She ripped it open and started drinking without even thinking. She nearly choked on the blood,” Oh god that’s vile,” she groaned,” Animal blood.”

“Not as good as the real thing?” Josie asked, sipping her chocolate milk. 

“Not even close,” Hope answered before deciding that she needed to drink the rest despite the taste. If she was going to continue going to school here she’d have to get used to it.

“Did I taste good?” That was a very loaded question. Hope’s eyebrows shot up but she quickly composed herself and put on a classic Mikaelson smirk.

I don’t think you want me to answer that,” the question threw her but most things about Josie did that these days.

Hope had no idea when they’d gotten this close to each other.” I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want an answer,” Josie retaliated with a smirk of her own, and Hopes heart skipped a beat.

“What do you want me to say, Josie, that’s it’s all I can think about,” Hope’s eyes traveled to Josie’s lips then to her neck. She could feel Josie’s breath before she pulled away breaking the tension between them. 

She was off the bed and to the door before Josie even knew what was happening,” Come on Jo I told you I have plans today, wanna help?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of tension but mainly just Hope worrying


	5. Chapter 5

After talking to Mg and Kaleb, Hope circled back around to the kitchen where she left Josie with very specific instructions. When she enters Josie is finishing pouring an entire tray full of fresh hot coffees. “Coffee’s ready just like you asked,” Josie said, picking the tray up and meeting Hope at the door. They wandered down hallways and poked their heads into rooms before they found who they were looking for. They found the sheriff and her kids along with Mayor Donovan sitting huddled together, at a corner table. The two girls walked up and sat down to the great surprise of all the people sitting there.

“Good morning,” Hope announced cheerfully,” We brought coffee,” Josie sat the tray onto the table and pushed it toward them. Slowly hands moved forward and claimed cups but no one drank, they all just stared at them in shock.

Maya and Ethan tools cup first followed by Sheriff Mac then Mayor Donovan who only held the mug but never drank. “Thank you girls,” the sheriff said shakily like she was waiting for the second shoe to drop. Without invitation, Hope and Josie sat down at the table like nothing at all had happened the night before.

They both waited with false patience for everyone to drink their coffee so they could move on with their plan,” All right level with me,” the mayor said eyeing the cup, “ Is this poisoned?” Hope couldn’t blame him for wondering. If she were any other member of her family it would be a real possibility but it was because of said family members that she had Josie spike the coffee with vervain this morning. She was sure that the mayor was already on vervain but as for the sheriff and her family, it was better safe than sorry.

“What on earth are you talking about Uncle Matt?” Josie asked with a smile and a sip of her coffee to prove him wrong.

Every student on campus that wasn’t a vampire was already on vervain, so Hope didn’t need to worry about them and since she was now an official Original it was easy enough to compel Kaleb and Mg when she met them this morning, and that only left the humans in attendance. After a short excruciating moment, they all took a sip of their drink. Hope smiled and was about to leave when Caroline appeared behind them.

“Well, this is unexpected." She said eyeing the occupants of the table. She was much more put together this morning then she was when Hope saw her last night, hopefully, her talk with Lizzie had gone well. Realization washed over her with a dull sense of dread. She had forgotten about Caroline, or course Caroline knew about what had happened last night how could she not.

“Good morning Caroline,” Hope says with a grin,” weird question, is there any chance you’re on vervain right now?” 

“You laced the coffee with vervain?” Matt asked shocked as he stared down into his coffee.

Hope didn’t answer him, she might be trying to save his life but that didn’t mean she was happy with him. Forgiving and forgetting was never Hope’s strong point, but that didn’t mean that he deserved to die. Caroline seemed to realize why Hope was asked without saying anything and shook her head no,” Well,” Hope started turning her attention back to Caroline,” Do you want coffee or compulsion.

The twins’ mother made a face clearly unhappy with both options, Hope didn’t like it either but what other choice did they have. “Compulsion,” she said definitively,” It’s more long  term and much less painful.” Hope was no more comfortable compelling Caroline than she was her friends earlier but grudgingly she stood and met Caroline’s eyes. Compulsion was easier than Hope had expected it to be, she thought forcing her will upon others would be harder but apparently not.

She was very careful with the wording,” You will remember what you learned happened to me last night, but you will not be able to share that information with anyone who doesn't already know it,” Caroline blinked once, then twice. Then she was back,” Glad that’s done. Now there’s only one thing left.” 

Hope picked up the last mug of coffee and braced herself. Before she could stop herself, she put the glass to her lips and tried to gulp down the drink. Her throat seized and started to blister as she clamped her hand over her mouth forcing the poisoned drink down. While she was choking Josie grabbed her hand and watched her with worried eyes, she knew this was part of the plan but that didn’t mean she was prepared for it.

“Well, now that that’s done,” Hope choked out forcing herself to stand,” If you’ll excuse me I have to go pack.” she left the table alone, only feeling slightly guilty for leaving Josie to answer all the questions.

She swiftly made her way back to her room and started packing her things, she wouldn’t need much just a few personal belongings and her grimoires, she had another wardrobe at home in New Orleans so she didn’t have to pack up everything every time she moved back and forth. She had just started taking her books off the shelves when there was a loud knock at her door. She opened it with a flick of her wrist to see the twins on the other side.

“Hey we just wanted to check-in, see if you need help packing or something,” Lizzie said as they walked in. Hope was surprised by the offer, it seemed very unlike Lizzie but she still accepted.

“Sure,” she answered,” will you leave the door propped open, I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of visitors today,” and she was right, dozens of people stopped by, some she’d never really even talked to before to check up on her or to catch a glimpse of the mythical tribrid. For some reason, Hope wasn’t upset by this, she was leaving for who knows how long and it was nice to see everyone before that. They had been doing more talking than packing when Landon and Raphael appeared at her door, timidly knocking on her open door.

Hope grinned when she saw them but it was Josie who spoke,” Hey guys,” she grinned from the other side of the room where she was flipping through one of Hope’s grimoires. Landon stood in her doorway and didn’t come any further in the room. Things had been tense between them since they broke up weeks ago, but they've been so busy dealing with the drama of the school that they just pushed it aside. The breakup was mutual, both of them had different priorities, Landon’s being discovering his new powers and Hope’s being saving the Saltzmans, and things between them just kinda fell apart. It was hard and she missed being able to talk to him but in the end, Hope was good at being alone.

“How are you holding up Hope?” Raphael asked.

“I’m fine,” Hope repeated for the millionth time,” You know I don’t go down that easy.” the twins chuckled at her joke and Landon gave a weak smile but Raphael just seemed confused.

“Well since no one will tell me what went on last night I actually wouldn’t know,” Hope swelled with pride at how well her plan was working already and her family wasn’t even on  campus yet. “ So I figured I would just come straight to the source and ask,” he stared at her for a moment expecting her to spill everything. When she didn’t he continued,” What happened last night Hope?” 

Hope wouldn’t meet his eyes, she didn’t like keeping secrets from her friends, even when it was necessary she still felt guilty. She didn’t know how to respond and things were just starting to get awkward when another voice spoke up.

“You know, I was wondering the exact same thing,” Marcel was leaning against her door frame grinning at her and Hope was running without even realizing it. She wrapped her arms around his neck with so much force that if he were anyone else he would have stumbled back. It had been so long since she’d seen him, and she hadn’t realized just how much she missed him. His strong arms pulled her closer and she was safe and loved like she was a little girl again, with her family protecting her.

“You’re early,” she said, pulling away from him slightly.

“And you haven’t packed,” he said looking over her at the disaster that was her room right now. Lizzie had started packing her clothes before Hope had stopped her so now half her closet was on the floor. Josie was surrounded by spell books on the ground all opened to different pages, and Hope was in the middle of cleaning out her desk when they’d gotten distracted.

“Well you weren’t supposed to be here till tonight,” she responded waving her hands at all her junk.

“We caught an earlier flight.” Marcel eyed the two boys in Hope’s room and thankfully they were both smart enough to quickly find their way out before he started asking questions. It’s not that she wasn’t allowed to date, It’s just that they were very protective and always enjoyed scarring off any boy who had the nerve to talk to her.

Hope purposefully ignored Landon and Raphael as they tucked tail and ran, “Where are the others?” she asked getting worried

“Well Kol and Rebekah are talking to Alaric and Caroline right now,” Hope suppressed the panic in her stomach at that thought, “ and Davina is off picking up breakfast. Which means we have a minute to talk without them.” Hope’s eyebrows shot up and her curiosity was piqued.

“Can you give us a minute?” she asked the twins apologetically.

“Of course,” Josie answered as they made their way to the door,” Just don’t leave without saying bye.” they disappeared around the corner as Hope fought to repress the grin on her face. She was already going to have to answer questions about the boys in her room later, she didn’t need to add Josie to that list too. She couldn’t risk that with her, she was one of her best friends and she couldn’t do anything to mess that up. She pushed those thoughts from her mind and turned to face Marcel who was closing the door behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

The room was silent for a moment as Hope and Marcel both took their seats across from each other just an arm’s length away. Despite the seemingly deep and serious conversation Marcel wanted to have, Hope couldn’t stop herself from grinning. She’d missed her family so much, just the thought that most of them were in the same building with her, filled her with joy, more joy than she’d felt in a very long time. That was probably the heightened emotions that come along with her new vampirism. 

“God it’s good to see you kid,” Marcel grinned,” but I wish it were under better circumstances.” 

“I’m fine Marcel I promise,” Hope didn’t want to have this conversation with every person she saw, it was getting tiring and this was only her first day as a vampire. Marcel studied her face trying to tell if she was telling the truth. However, Hope was always good at putting on a mask, she was a powerful witch, a noble wolf, or a proud Mikaelson the lines have blurred over the years but she’d never gotten any better at letting people in, or at least that what she told herself. Cracks in her armor had formed, in the shapes of her friends, and no matter what she did or how hard she fought it the cracks grew bigger. 

Marcel’s voice snapped her back into focus,” sure, you are now, but what about in 100 years or 300 when everything has changed and you stay the same.” Immortality wasn’t a new concept for Hope, she knew it was her fate, but it was a fate she’d been dutifully ignoring for a long time now. 

Her smile faded as Marcel continued,” look I’m not trying to make this harder kid, but I think you should be prepared for what’s coming,” he reached and gripped Hope’s hand in his. Whatever he wanted to tell her was obviously hard for him,” Rebekah has the cure lined up for her, Freya, Keelin, Davina, and Nik all only have a witch’s life span, and honestly I don’t want to think about what’s going to happen to Kol when Davina passes away.” 

These were all things that Hope knew, but that didn’t stop her hands from shaking. “Marcel, I know all that already, why are you bringing it up now?” 

Marcel sighed and pulled away rubbing his hands over his face,” because somebody has to. Look, we are the two most powerful beings in existence and I don’t know if there is anything on this earth that could kill me and I have the same feeling about you too. Me and you kid we are in this for the long hall no matter what and I need you to understand that.” 

Marcel’s voice was shaky but his presence was strong as ever, it was familiar and comforting despite everything that had happened,” There’s no one I’d rather face down eternity with Marcellous.” Hope’s strength wasn’t for show this time. Marcel’s phone dinged in his pocket. 

He pulled it out and read the message on the screen,” It’s D. She says she’s in the kitchen with breakfast.” 

“Let’s go then,” Hope answered and stood up to leave, but before she could he caught her elbow and stopped her. 

“One more thing,” Hope knew this question was coming before he asked and squeezed her eyes shut preparing to lie.” What happened last night Hope? Who hurt you?” 

Hope’s answer rolled, practiced, off her tongue,” Monster attack, it’s been taken care of already, I promise.” He didn’t believe her, that was clear by the way he cocked his head and lifted an eyebrow at her.

“If I don’t believe that, what makes you think they will?” he asked. 

“Whether you all believe or not isn’t my problem because that is the only answer you will be getting.” With that, she slid her arm through his and led him to the kitchen where at least 5 dozen doughnuts were waiting for them with a very excited Davina who had definitely had multiple cups of coffee. She met Davina with a hug and a squeeze before digging into the doughnuts. 

“First, why are we having doughnuts at 12:30? It’s way past breakfast time-? Hope started but then was cut off by Davina.

“It’s always breakfast time.” 

“And second there’s no way we can eat all these doughnuts,” she took a particularly large bite,” I’m calling in reinforcements.” with a quick text she told all of the super squad to come to the kitchen for food and they slowly all trickled in. Soon they were all piled in, sitting on stools, counters and window seals stuffing their faces with fried goodness, joking and laughing. It was nice, Hope was happy. She might be leaving but at least she would still have her friends when she came back. Slowly Hope pulled back from the conversation, content to just watch her friends goof off. Hope barely realized she was doing it until Josie bumped her shoulder to get her attention. She met eyes with a small grin, which grew into a large smile when Josie grabbed her hand under the table. 

Hope opened her mouth to speak, still unsure of what she would say, but before she could Rebekah and Kol burst through the doors. Hope moved without thinking, running to her family, she wasn’t sure who exactly she was running to but her uncle Kol reached her first. He scooped her up in his arms and lifted her off the ground laughing as he spun her in a circle like he used to do when she was a kid. When her feet found the ground again he spoke,” there you are little witch, what adventures you’ve had.” 

“I’ll tell you everything later,” Hope said as she turned toward her aunt Rebekah. 

She moved slower like she was afraid Hope might disappear, she brought on hand to Hope’s cheek and the other went to her hair. She was quiet for a moment just looking at Hope then she pulled her into a tight hug and Hope figured if there were fewer people in this room her auntie Bex might be crying. “Are you okay, my darling?” she whispered into Hope’s ear. 

Of course, I’m ok,” 

“Who did this Hope, tell me.” her aunt demanded, eyes filled with vengeance and a fierce protectiveness, that Hope knew all too well. 

It was harder to lie this time,” it was a monster attack,” she repeated,” I guess I just wasn’t quick enough.” The room was tense as they waited for Hope’s answer to take hold. 

Surprisingly Rebekah didn’t answer, Kol did,” a monster kill my favorite niece I don’t think so.” he wasn’t wrong, that’s the annoying thing about her family they were rarely wrong. 

“The truth, Hope Andrea,” Rebekah cut in, grabbing her hands. 

“It was a monster,” Hope answered 

She didn’t want them to push this, but she knew they would. When it came to her safety they always went to the extremes. 

“You can’t honestly expect us to believe that Hope,” Kol said taking a serious tone, that Hope didn’t like one bit.

She needed to put an end to this conversation before it got out of hand,” well if you don’t believe me then I guess you have eternity to figure it out.” That seemed to do the trick,” can we please go home now.” 

  
  


An hour later they had all of Hope’s things packed and loaded in the cars bound for New Orleans. Hope’s family was muttering quietly with Alaric and Caroline, leaving Hope to say goodbye to her friends. It was strange saying goodbye, every other time she’d left she didn’t have anything to come back to, but now it was different, she had friends and an ex-boyfriend who she hoped she could still call a friend and Josie. She had Josie, despite everything that had happened, Malivore and prison worlds, she still had Josie. 

Mg gave her an awkward hug that turned genuine as he muttered his goodbye. Kaleb clapped her back and shook her hand, they weren’t huggers and Hope was fine with that. Landon and Raphael stood a respectable distance away and met her with warm smiles that made her feel like everything could go back to normal eventually. 

Lizzie stood on her left,” so do I get a hug goodbye,” Hope asked,” or have we moved 3 steps back in our friendship again?” Lizzie fought against a smile as she wrapped her arms around Hope. 

“You take your time to heal,” Lizzie told her,” everyone here will be fine, we just need you to be too.” her words washed over Hope and for the first time in a long time Hope felt like crying. The fact that Lizzie, the girl who she hated more than anyone as a child was now one of her dearest friends and cared for her just as much was overwhelming. 

“Don’t let anyone do anything stupid while I’m gone ok,” Hope told her as she pulled away and turned to Josie. 

Josie looked like she was barely holding it together, Hope knew that her leaving was hard for the siphoner, the guilt was like a knot in her stomach, but she knew that this was for the best. Hope was unstable and until she was comfortable with her new power and had it under control no one at this school would be safe with her around. 

Carefully Hope grabbed Josie’s hands and took a step closer,” I so sorry Jo,” she mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.” I’ll be back before you know it, I promise.” Josie pulled her into a tight hug and buried her face into Hope’s neck. Hope brought her hand to the back of Josie’s head and just held her. 

“Promise you’ll call,” she whispered her voice shaky. Hope froze for a moment unsure of what to say. “Just don’t shut me out again Hope please.” 

“I won't, I promise,” Hope told her, making the promise more to herself than to Josie. She had let Josie in, and now it was up to her to fight and keep her walls down. 

She pulled away and pulled herself together, putting her good foot forward she looked at her friends,” I’m serious when I say don’t do anything stupid while I’m away cause I won’t be here to save your asses,” they all chuckled slightly,” but if you ever need me, call please.” with that she turned from them and walked to where her family was waiting by the car. They climbed in together and the driver started the engine, taking them away from the school. Hope slagged against her seat and rested her head on her aunt Bex’s shoulder where she was met with a light kiss on the forehead. She closed her eyes letting herself feel peace for a moment. By the time  they hit the interstate headed south to New Orleans Hope was fast asleep, surrounded by her loving, crazy, and only slightly worried family, but none of that matter because for the first time in over a year Hope Mikaelson was going home.


	7. Chapter 7

New Orleans was exactly like Hope remembered it, the perfect mixture of vibrant colorful life and a wild dangerous power that always seemed to follow the Mikaelson family wherever they went. However much she loved the Salvator school, the quarter will always be her home, even though half of its inhabitants have tried to kill her. 

Hope’s aunt Freya and her family met them at the door of their family home in a flurry of hugs and laughs before they all settled in for dinner. Nik attached himself to Hope’s side and had no plans of letting go anytime soon. He was particularly shy for a three-year-old, but he and Hope had a connection, they might not have been siblings but Hope could only imagine this was the kind of love that her father and his brothers and sisters all shared. 

It was strange, all of them in the same house again, she thought it would get better as time passed but weeks later and Hope could tell that everyone was trying to be on their best behavior, for her. They saw how vulnerable she was now after everything she’s gone through the past year and they wanted to give her a stable environment. Which somehow made it all so much worse. She missed the chaos that came with her family, she was tired of being handled with kid gloves. 

What did get better with time was the blood lust. Hope learned to safely feed on human blood, to control her urges and to restrain herself. Josie was right, it was a lot like dealing with her magic, keeping it under control every hour of every day for the rest of her life. 

Of all the things that Hope missed about home, one of them wasn’t Mardi Gras. It’s not that she hated the crowds or the party, she hated the responsibility that fell on her shoulders because of it. For the past four years, the quarter chose four girls to be princesses in a parade, one witch, one wolf, one vampire, and Hope. Every year she got dressed up in gowns and crowns, parading through the streets and attending balls; she hated every second of it. But she did it anyway because it represented the quarter as a unified people despite their differences. She could handle one day of torture if it benefited her people.

She’d expected Mardi Gras this year to be just like every other year, long and loud and boring, at least until she got the phone call. 

  
  


This wasn’t the first time Josie had snuck away to New Orleans, last time however she had a cover story and she didn’t have her twin with her. They were royally screwed when they got home from their impromptu vacation but Josie decided not to focus on that right now. She chose to be excited instead. She was excited to experience the city at its best and most importantly she was excited to see Hope again. 

Josie felt Hope’s absence like a missing piece of herself over the few weeks she’d been gone, but she’d tried her best to focus on herself and heal, the same way Hope was. It was harder than she’d anticipated but nothing worthwhile was ever easy.

She followed Lizzie off the bus and onto the street, swarming with people, who were already very drunk despite it barely being breakfast time. “So we made it,” Lizzie said, taking in the city,” but how exactly are we supposed to find Hope? They're thousands of people here and we don’t know where she lives?” Josie’s signature pout deepened as her sister pointed out the flaw in their plan.

She yelled over the noise” we’ll figure that out later, right now I’m starving. Let’s find something to eat.” they linked arms so as not to get separated and pushed through the crowd until they found a small corner cafe. The smell coming from inside was intoxicating and they found themselves going inside without even discussing it. They seated themselves in the back corner at a table for two with a small bouquet of daisies in the middle and waited patiently to have their order taken. They were the only customers there so Lizzie started getting impatient fast when they weren’t waited on right away, but Josie used the time to take in the city. 

A minute or two later an older man with a white beard appeared at their table and placed a large plate of beignets in front of them,” We didn’t order these, sir,” Josie said sweetly, proud of herself for remembering to add sir at the end.

“Read the card little lady,” he said with a kind smile and a soft southern accent, motioning to the brown envelope sitting on the plate that Josie didn’t even notice.

Lizzie grabbed the card and ripped it open before Josie could. She scrunched her eyebrows together as she read aloud,” Welcome to the Crescent City, enjoy your meal. Love H.M” Lizzie laughed and handed the note to her sister so she could read it too,” How on earth does she know we are here? We just got here.” Josie didn’t have that answer but she could guess who did. 

“Excuse me,” she said, getting the attention of the man who brought the note,” Do you know the girl who wrote this note? Do you know Hope?” 

He returned this time with two cups of coffee, but it wasn’t him who answered, a lady with dyed red hair in a messy bun stuck her head out of a window in the wall that led to the kitchen,” everyone in the quarter knows who Hope Mikaelson is,” neither of the twins was surprised by this,” she’s the best thing to come out of that damned house in two hundred years.” 

“Do you know where we could find her?” Lizzie asked

“If you’re looking for her you should watch the parade later today,” the man said. Josie leaned closer to get a look at his nametag, it read Benny. 

Before Josie could respond the lady from the kitchen spoke up again,” but that’s not for hours and you girls look hungry, so what can I make for you,” 

After they placed their orders the twins dug into the beignets. There was no doubt that it was the best food around. They ate their breakfast in silence, more focused on the food than anything else. After they finished Josie decided to try and get more answers,” So what time is this Parade we should be going to?” 

“It starts at 10:30 but if you want a good spot you’ll need to be out there much earlier,” Benny said, clearing their plates. 

Lizzie checked the time on her phone and made a face,” we better get going then,” she said and they stood going to the register.

“Your check’s been taken care of. You girls go enjoy the parade.” Benny said, waving them off. Josie was shocked, and she and Lizzie met eyes for a moment trying to decide whether they should push this or not.” I’m serious now,” He said noticing their uneasiness,” go enjoy the city,” 

They knew they couldn’t fight good old southern hospitality so they said goodbye and once again faced the chaos of Mardi Gras. They found a spot near the road and waited, Josie got distracted for a moment and when she found Lizzie again her sister had a drink in each  hand. Josie wasn’t much of a drinker but she sipped while they waited for the parade to start. Soon music flowed through the air and the crowd started to scream as the floats started to arrive. Beads, candy, and small toys flew as Josie scanned every face looking for Hope. Just as Josie was starting to lose hope in finding her friend, the parade morphed into something new. The floats were grander and each only held one person. 

On the first float was a girl with tan skin and a smattering of freckles, in a long tule green dress with flowers in her dark hair and a crown of roses on her head. She was smiling and waving at the crowd around her like a princess as the crowd surged forward lifting their hands to her. 

On the second float, was a girl considerably younger than the others, with wild black curls and silver circlet around her forehead. Her dress was brown and ragged if Josie had to guess she would say it was made out of burlap, but it was a fashion choice that she pulled off well. Despite her age, she held herself with a large amount of pride, Josie could tell by the way she raised her chin as she watched the crowd. 

The third float had a girl in a velvet red dress, with pin-straight blonde hair and a tiara dripping with black jewels. She had intense makeup that few people could pull off and a glint in her eyes that suggested trouble. She didn’t wave at the people around her and for some reason, they screamed even louder because of it.

When the fourth float appeared Josie nearly choked on her drink. Atop it stood Hope, in a stunning satin blue dress and her auburn hair was in a dramatic updo with a crown so big that it looked more like a sheet of diamonds. Hope looked regal without even trying, you could never tell that she hated every minute she was on that float. For a moment Josie could swear Hope found her in the crowd, and she might have waved it off if Hope hadn’t winked, her smile turning slightly more genuine. 

The floats moved past them, but not far before they stopped in the road and the girls climbed down one by one. Josie was too distracted watching Hope to notice where they were going until Hope disappeared from view behind a curtain that leads to a stage. Lizzie snapped her out of it by bumping her shoulder and motioning to the stage, as Marcel Gerard walked out to the center. 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he bellowed grinning from ear to ear, obviously very comfortable in front of a crowd,” It is my pleasure to once again announce this year’s princesses of the quarter.” the crowd roared around them and Josie lifted slightly onto her toes in anticipation. 

The girls filed onto the stage, one after the other then turned to face the crowd. They linked hands and lifted them into the air as if on queue the wind picked up in a way that could only be explained by magic. She didn’t know what the mass of drunk people thought was happening, but however, they explained it to themselves they loved it. Everyone gasped and laughed, enthralled by the magic of the city, that was linked to these four princesses. 

The spectacle was over quicker than Josie expected and each of the girls walked off one by one disappearing off the stage and back behind the curtains, effectively ending the parade and leaving the people to go back to drinking and partying, at least until the next parade. Lizzie grabbed Josie’s hand and started pulling her toward the stage.

“Come on Jo,” she said as they ducked behind the curtains following,” We found Hope we can’t lose her now,” they stopped just far enough away that they could see the group of girls huddled by the door to a bar with some men standing farther away in dark clothes, like security guards. Marcel appeared out of nowhere, the same grin on his face as he ushered everyone inside. But Hope stayed behind, her back was to the twins so they couldn’t hear what excuse she gave. Josie took this as their queue to come out of the shadows, so she nudged Lizzie and they moved forward. 

“I was wondering how long you two were going to wait there,” Hope said, turning to face them, wearing a smirk that was so much more beautiful than any crown. Then Josie was running and throwing her arms around her, she’d missed Hope so much. She was even more sure of that now that they were together again. Hope met her halfway and wrapped her arms around Josie’s waist pulling her close. 

“Did you forget about me?” Lizzie’s voice broke through.

“As if I could,” Hope laughed, releasing Josie and moving to hug Lizzie. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked 

“We decided to take a long weekend, come see the city, celebrate all that and running into you was just a happy accident,” Lizzie teased with an eye roll. 

Before they could say anything else one of the girls stepped back outside, the smile she was wearing earlier had turned into a scowl. “Come on Hope, some of us actually want to look nice at the ball tonight” She was the picture of grace and kindness during the parade, all covered in flowers but now she was completely different. 

“And you have to work so hard for that Phoebe,” Hope shot back like she was very used to dealing with this girl. Hope’s comment must have been enough because Phoebe’s face turned red, whether it was from anger or embarrassment Josie wasn’t sure, but she turned on her heel and marched back inside. 

However she was quickly replaced by another, the blonde this time.” I know she’s a bitch Hope but she’s right if we don’t get back soon your aunt will have all our heads,” 

“Yeah I know,” Hope replied then glancing at the twins she asked,” do you guys want to come?” 

It didn’t take twin telepathy for them to come up with their answer. Soon they were following Hope into the bar. Josie recognized it immediately, it was the same bar she met Freya at when she came to reverse engineer the spell to bring everyone's memory back and it hadn’t changed one bit. 

None of them talked as they followed Marcel into the back room where he moved a refrigerator revealing a hole in the wall. Josie’s eyes widened but she didn’t open her mouth. She watched in silence as all of the girls and the bodyguards disappeared inside without hesitation until it was just the three of them again. 

Hope must have sensed her unease because she spoke,” It’s an old bootlegger tunnel, they run all over the city, you can get anywhere with them.” she climbed inside with ease and held out her hands to help the twins in, with her new strength she basically did all the hard work for them. 

The tunnel was dark and damp and Josie remembered just how much she hated being underground, she took a deep breath to settle herself and pushed forward, following Hope  through the twisting catacombs. Josie grabbed Lizzie’s hand, she didn’t know if her sister could tell how much she hated this but she squeezed her hand and Josie felt better. After what felt like an eternity, they made it to an exit, and when they resurfaced Josie found herself in a grand house that somehow looked ancient and modern (modern for New Orleans at least) all at once. The group made their way to a room in the center of the house, that was where the princesses had gotten ready for their grand debut. The walls were lined with four vanities, covered in makeup and jewelry and surrounded by people whose job it was to prepare the girls for the ball they had to attend that evening. 

The girls scattered to their respective areas and started to get ready, and the twins followed Hope to her’s. But unlike everyone else Hope didn’t get to work,” welcome to my home,” she stated motioning at everything around them. 

“You live here?” Lizzie gasped shocked. Josie shouldn’t have been surprised given everything she knew about Hope’s family, but the magnitude of the house still weighed on her. It was giant. Speaking of families, it was around that moment that they started to pour in from the outside. A young girl around 12 bolted across the room and nearly tackled one of the girls, the one sitting at the vanity next to Hope’s. 

“You look like the queen of the wolves,” she squeaked. 

The girl huffed and rolled her eyes messing with her little sister's hair,” thanks but that’s Hope’s job, not mine,” 

“Very funny Ava,” Hope shot back with a grin, as the little girl came to give Hope a hug too. 

“You look really pretty too,” 

“Why thank you, Charlie,” Hope replied, giving the girl a squeeze then turning back to the twins,” guys this is Charlie, that’s her sister Ava and the one being all broody behind them is their brother Logan. They’re crescent wolves from my pack.,” Josie hadn’t even noticed Logan, but Lizzie had, he was tall, dark and Handsome exactly her type, Josie could tell by the way her eyes were bulging out of her head. “ and as for the other girls, you already met Phoebe she’s a witch and that’s Cecily a vamp,” 

“One of each faction,” Josie commented, raising an eyebrow,” and you're the tribrid it’s all very symbolic.” 

Hope laughed, loud and clear,” No I’m the Mikaelson representative, but I like your reason better.” 

The rest of the Mikaelsons entered with the families of the other girls, Kol and Davina came to them first because Marcel and Rebekah were busy politicking and Freya was chasing her small son around trying to stop him from throwing beads. 

Kol held out a very ornate looking box lined with velvet and Hope removed her crown and earrings placing them in the box. “ You looked stunning out there Hope,” Davina cued. 

“Anyone looks stunning when they are wearing priceless Russian jewels,” Hope said shrugging

“Oh just take the compliment, Hope,” Davina laughed. 

Rebekah appeared behind them scarily silent, but her demeanor didn’t seem threatening,” Did you decide what dress you are going to wear tonight, darling?” she asked as she stood behind Hope at the vanity, running her fingers lightly through her hair.

“No not yet aunt Bex,” she replied.

“You don’t have a dress for tonight,” Lizzie shrieked clearly appalled. Josie bit back a laugh at the shocked look on the tribrid’s face. 

“Don’t worry Lizzie I have plenty of options,” Hope said standing up,” come on you can help me pick,” they followed her back through the house and up the stairs till they came to a door off a side hallway that looked like it lead to a broom closet, and it was a closet but it was also so much more. 

Inside was the biggest walk-in closet that Josie had ever seen, the walls lined with dresses of every kind, from different eras and styles, there was even an entire corner dedicated entirely to wedding dresses. Hope smirked as she saw her friends gaping, clearly amused. 

“Wow,” Lizzie muttered, running her hands through the dresses and Josie joined her, sifting through hundreds of dresses from every point in history, and of modern ones too. As much as she wanted to play with all of the historical dresses, she decided to focus on the modern dresses. 

Hope was silent as they searched, but Josie could hear Lizzie muttering to herself. After a moment Hope spoke up,” you can each pick one dress for me to try on, we are on a time limit,” 

“There’s no need,” Josie gasped as she pulled a gorgeous, sleek black dress covered in swirling gold beading off the wall,” this is your dress,” Lizzie sucked in a breath as she saw the dress and Josie knew that her twin agreed with her decision. 

“You just want an excuse to see me in that dress,” Hope poked. Was that flirting? Josie couldn’t tell, but she played along.

“Guilty as charged, now go put it on,” Hope laughed, taking the dress in her arms and disappearing behind a screen to change. 

Josie was so right about the dress, anyone who saw Hope would know that. For lack of a better word, she looked hot, insanely hot, Josie had to force herself not to stare. Before she could say anything Freya appeared in the doorway with her son on her hip,” You look so much like your mother sometimes,” she said her eyes filled with emotions. Her son, Nik Josie remembered, wiggled his way out her grasp and beelined for Hope. she scooped him up with ease, her smile growing. 

It was strange, seeing Hope with her family something shifted, she wasn’t just hot she was beautiful. There was a light behind her that wasn’t normally there, it made the siphoner’s heart skip a beat. 

They spent the rest of the afternoon getting Hope ready, the twins fell into a rhythm, easy and fun, they did her hair and makeup and laughed like they were normal teenage girls getting ready for a party. They talked to the other girls too, Ava and Hope were really close, they’d practically grown up together, and Cecily was nice enough. Phoebe kept her distance but nobody complained about that. 

At some point, Kol stopped by and left another box, this one considerably smaller, but probably equally expensive. All of the crowns were smaller now, Josie noticed wondering that was another strange tradition that Hope hadn’t mentioned. 

Eventually, everyone made their way downstairs to the front door, it seemed they were using a visible exit this time. Hope’s entire family was dressed to impress, minus Freya’s wife  Keelin who was staying home to watch Nik for the evening, it seemed that a Mardi Gras ball wasn’t an appropriate place for a toddler. Everyone made their way outside but Hope stayed behind,” sorry for leaving like this guys,” 

“Are you kidding,” Lizzie scoffed,” you’re going to an actual ball Hope, I think we can handle ourselves for the night,” 

“Besides we’ll probably just go explore the city some,” Josie added, trying to ease the older girls' guilt. It didn’t work because Hope’s guilt seemed to turn to worry. 

Hope held out her hands and each of the twins took one without question,” stock up on some magic,” Josie started siphoning on instinct, Lizzie did too,” I’m not telling you not to go into the city but just be safe and if anything happens under no circumstances are you to tell anyone that you are siphoner witches ok?” Hope was tense, but she seemed to be willing to let the twins handle themselves for the night. 

“That’s worrying but we accept,” Lizzie said. 

It seemed that all of Hope’s family wasn’t outside yet because Davina was suddenly running down the stairs,” come on Hope if we don’t leave now we’re going to be late,” 

“You’re the one who’s late, D not me,” Hope retorted, releasing Josie’s hand but not moving away from them. 

“Go have fun,” Josie said, nudging her toward the door with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow everyone's feedback is amazing! I've been super excited to share this chapter but it didn't quite turn out like I wanted I hope yall enjoy anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

They spent the whole weekend exploring the city, Hope took them through her favorite places, restaurants, shops, and even the clock tower where her aunt Freya set up all her witch things. Hope had missed her friends exponentially, even as the weekend came to a close she wished they could stay longer. After an entire day in the bayou, on the river with Ava and Logan and a bonfire that night, the girls all piled up in Hope’s family room to stay up late watching movies. 

After gorging themselves with popcorn and candies, they finally called it a night and went slowly to their respective rooms. Hope, however, still wasn’t ready to sleep. Instead, she pulled countless books off her shelves to read a few pages then left them discarded all over her room. Slowly her attention shifted to her art, she got her sketchbook and began idly drawing, trying to calm her brain. Time crawled past until the moon was high and the city's nightlife was in full swing.

She’s snapped out of her head, by a knock on her door, after checking the clock she opens the door to see Josie on the other side.

“Hey sorry I hope I didn’t wake you,” Josie said shyly as she welcomed her into her room. Josie glanced around, taking in everything she saw. Hope’s room was a mess and her cheeks reddened slightly as she tried to tidy subtly. 

“No, not at all,” she said, “I wasn’t sleeping, were you?” she asked, taking a seat on her bed. 

“Lizzie was and I didn’t want to wake her so I figured I’d come bother you,” Josie jokes, poking Hope in the side, causing her to laugh. 

“You’re never a bother Jo, you know that,” 

Josie blushed and went back to looking around the room. Her eyes landed on Hope’s paintings all piled in the corner. There was a half-finished one on the easel that was a swirl of colors, and if Josie squinted her eyes, she could imagine they were flowers. She started sorting through the various paintings leaned against the wall. She lands on one that is a nighttime view of New Orleans, Josie sighed,” I wish I could see the world the way you do Hope,” she said absentmindedly, enthralled by the painting. 

“That’s one of my favorites,” Hope replied smiling before taking Josie’s hand and leading her away, through the door and out onto the balcony. “Come on let me show you something.” 

The city sprawled out around them, in a haze of noise and light, despite all the crazy people, Hope smiled as she watched everything. “Wow,” was all Josie could say,” It’s beautiful out here.” 

“Wait till you see this,” Hope said, bouncing and pulling her toward the corner of the balcony, where a trellis was attached to the wall. Hope started climbing without even thinking, she’d made this journey hundreds of times since she was a little girl. It took her a moment to realize that Josie wasn’t following her up, she stood back with wide eyes and an exasperated look. 

“You want me to climb up there?” she asked, eyeing the trellis and the roof that it led to,” No way,” 

An idea came to Hope and she acted without before she could second guess herself. Using her vampire speed she grabbed the siphoner and got them to her favorite spot on the roof in seconds. Josie yelped and grabbed onto her tightly when she saw where she was. Josie’s  fear of heights was new to Hope, but she found it endearing. They sat down slowly and after a moment she calmed down, releasing Hope, but still staying close enough that if she fell Hope could catch her. 

“Does this look familiar?” Hope asked motioning toward the city beneath them. This was the scene that she painted, it had taken so many attempts to capture it the way she wanted, but she was finally happy with the way it turned out.

“It’s your painting,” Josie realized, relaxing slightly, she watched the city for a while, but Hope just watched her. She could see Josie straining to take in everything, she would smile at the shouting people below swaying to the never-ending music of the city. 

In an instant, Josie’s whole mood changed, her dark eyes turned sad and glassy, Hope felt like she could drown in them. “There’s so much out there to see,” she said quietly, almost like she was talking to herself,” I don’t want to die before I can see it,” Hope’s heart cracked and in that moment she would have given anything to erase the sadness from the younger girl's face. 

Between Malivore and the prison world and turning, Hope hadn’t focused on the merge like she should have. It was a major piece of the twins’ life, it quite literally determined which one of them would live and which one would die. The thought of losing one of them filled her with dread, she’d lost too many people already and she was not about to add the twins to that list.

“When we figure all of this out and stop the merge,” Hope started, determined to make her friend feel better,” I’ll take you anywhere in the world you want to go, you just have to give us some time,” 

Josie laughed bitterly,” my parents have had 16 years to solve this and they haven’t gotten anywhere,” 

“Well, they didn’t have me,” Hope replied. Josie was tense, Hope could tell that there was something more on her mind, that she wasn’t sharing. She just didn’t know how to get her to open up. “What’s on your mind?” maybe all she had to do was ask. 

“I’ve got an idea,” she said slowly like she wasn’t sure exactly how to say this,” my parents will hate it, so I can’t tell them, but maybe you and I can work on it together,” Hope waited patiently for her to continue and when she did it was like she moved backward 3 steps,” I learned about this women, her name is Valerie Tulle, she’s an old member of the Gemini coven and she survived when everyone else died.”

“How?” Hope asked, leaning forward slightly. 

“She’s a heretic,” she whispered and Hope realized exactly what she was alluding to, she must’ve made a distressed noise because Josie turned to her with a renewed zeal and started explaining her plan,” Look if you turn me we can stop all of this, I won’t be able to merge with Lizzie and this can finally be over,” 

Hope couldn’t shoot the idea down, because it was better than any idea that she had, which was none, but that didn’t mean that she had to agree to help her,” You’re right that’s an option,” she said, dancing lightly around her words.

Josie deflated next to her, “You won’t do it,” she said, reading Hope like a book. 

“Answer me this, do you really want to be 16 years-old forever?” she asked, nudging her shoulder.

“Better that than being dead,” 

“How about a compromise,” Hope suggested, which was met with a confused look,” you come back to me when you’re 21 and if we don’t have this figured out by then, then we’ll talk about it, deal?” she asked.

“Vampire at 21 and seeing the world at 22, what a life,” Hope took that as confirmation. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company. Josie shivered next to her, goosebumps forming along her arms. It was a chilly night, but Hope didn’t even notice, she never felt the cold. She scooched closer to her friend silently offering up her heat, which Josie happily accepted. She leaned her head on Hope’s shoulder, finally feeling the drowsiness that should have claimed her hours ago, she started talking about whatever came to her mind,” You know when Lizzie and I first got to the city we went to this little cafe and after you sent us that note, which I still haven’t figured out how you did by the way,” she laughed,” we asked them if they knew you and where we could find you and they sent us the parade but they also said that everyone in the city knew who you were,” 

“You talked to Benny and Ms. Sheila,” Hope answered smiling,” they’re friends of mine,” she wasn’t exactly sure where the brunette was going with the conversation so she decided to just talk,” and they’re right, my family basically built this city. Once my family was treated like royalty, my dad used to tell me that that made me a princess. We’ve won wars and lost them here and more than a few of them were fought over me, so yeah for better or worse they know who I am,” she knew she was rambling, but it was nice to talk about this, so many people didn’t want to know a thing about her family, they would rather just pretend Hope was normal. 

“I think knowing you is for the better Hope Mikaelson,” Josie said softly. Hope’s entire body tensed with emotion, her throat closed and she found herself unable to speak. 

Josie always managed to surprise her, in the best ways,” you once asked me why I liked you,” she choked out, struggling to put her feelings into words. Josie sat upright, shocked by her words,” You are so kind Josie, genuinely kind, do you know how many people have been genuinely kind to me in my life. I’ll give you a hint it’s not very many, but you, you say things just like that without even thinking, and I shatter into a million pieces,” 

She couldn’t meet Josie’s eyes, she’s not sure what would happen if she did. Every star could simultaneously fall from the sky and she wouldn’t notice. “You’re a nice person too Hope,” Josie said, with an earth-shattering smile,” you saved uncle Matt's life and you’re still friends with Roman after everything that happened,” Hope had a feeling that she would keep listing things if she didn’t cut her off.

“Being forgiving isn’t the same as being kind,” Hope pushed back. The clock chimed once in the distance, loud and clear, breaking through the drunken noises below them.” come on you should get some rest, you have a long day of travel tomorrow,” 

Josie’s face contorted at the thought of having to climb her way off the roof,” can you just vamp us down please,” Hope chuckled and grabbed Josie’s waste, the younger girl squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them they were back on the balcony. Only slightly disoriented they went back into Hope’s room. 

“Do we really have to go back home tomorrow?” Josie whined, swinging her arms.

If it were up to Hope she would let the twins stay forever, but sadly their parents had other ideas,” I barely talked your dad into letting you stay this long,” Hope laughed,” any longer he might come down here and drag you back himself,” 

Josie stopped a ways from the door before turning back to face Hope, she was wringing her hands together like she was nervous,” do you think I could crash here tonight, I don’t want to wake Lizzie up, you know how cranky she can get.”

For the first time, Hope noticed the dark circles under the younger girl's eyes,” yeah of course,” Hope replied, pulling the covers back. 

As they crawled into bed Josie spoke up again,” when are you going to come back to school Hope?”

Hope had been wondering the same thing herself. As much as she loved it here with her family, she was actually hoping to graduate on time, and it was much harder to focus on schoolwork here than it was there. “Nik’s birthday is next weekend, I think I’ll come back after that,” 

Josie grinned. Hope ignored it when she heard her heartbeat speed up as they settled into bed, and when they awoke early the next morning entangled with each other, Hope ignored that too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope yall enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!! all feedback is appreciated


	9. Chapter 9

Hope was good on her promise, she always is, a week later she left New Orleans and headed back to school. Nik was so inconsolable that the only way they could get him to let go of Hope’s leg was to promise they could all go up to visit for family day at the end of the month. She drove through the night, drifting in and out of sleep in the backseat of a black SUV with tinted everything. Her family was in the wind again, everyone going in their own directions, Freya and Keelin stayed in Louisiana, Kol and Davina went back to the west coast, Rebekah and Marcel disappeared off to Vienna and Hope back to Mystic Falls. 

She arrived at the school at an ungodly hour, it was either very late at night or insanely early in the morning. It was dark and quiet, no one met her, everyone else was asleep as she made her way through the still hallways, dragging her luggage to her room. The travel exhausted her and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. 

Her dreams were filled with swirls of magic and faces she almost recognized just at the edge of her vision, everything was disorienting and always just out of reach. She felt like she was falling 

Her door slammed open just as the sun was starting to shine in through the windows and she jolted awake. Lizzie stood there still dressed in pajamas but otherwise very awake, with her hands on her hips. Hope watched her with blurry vision as the blonde scanned her entire room,” I thought she’d be with you,” she stated, a hint of worry in her voice

“Hello to you too,” Hope groaned sitting up,” and who?” she asked groggily, running her hands through her hair. 

“Josie of course,” Lizzie stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was but it was way too early for Hope to form any kind of coherent thought.” She was gone when I woke up, bed hasn’t been slept in, mom and dad are kinda freaking out,” 

That woke her up. It was decidedly un Josie like to stay out all night but it had been known to happen,” Is she seeing anyone?” the words bitter in her mouth, they tasted like lead and smoke. The incredulous look on Lizzie’s face was worth a million dollars and under different situations, Hope would’ve enjoyed it,” Well she used to stay the night with Penelope right, could that be what’s happening now,” 

“Ew gross,” Lizzie spit,” No way. Look I’m the first person to support my sister’s sex life, the hobbit excluded, but trust me I know where her head is right now and that is not it,” she seemed sincere in a Lizzie way. 

Everything was still packed so Hope dug through her bags to find clothes,” geez I was just asking,” she stepped into her closet and shut the door mostly so she could change in private,” No way in hell I’m going to class today, so tell your parents to stop freaking out, I’ll go find Jo,” the goal here was to keep everyone calm, Josie was very capable and her family knew that. Hope knew it too, and if she could find her without letting everyone else blow this out of proportion then it would be ok. 

Lizzie calmed down and agreed to pass on the message before disappearing to let Hope finish getting ready in peace. It would have been easy to just do a locator spell, but instead, she found herself wandering the halls looking for Josie and smiling at the other students she hadn’t seen in ages. She went to all of Josie’s favorite spots, her corner in the library, the window seat in the kitchen, the empty classroom where the seniors keep their stash of liquor (that might be  more of Lizzie’s favorite spot). She ends up walking through the woods heading towards the clubhouse, the school bell signaling the start of classes ringing behind her. 

The clubhouse is more rundown than Hope remembered, it’s wood was degraded and there was trash scattered around like everyone had a party but no one cleaned up. There was a beige couch pushed against one of the back walls, that’s where she found Josie. Asleep, her body contorted under a blanket and her dark hair covering her face. She laughed to herself and moved closer till she could gently nudge the younger girl trying to wake her. 

Josie shifted but didn’t wake,” Hey Jo,” she whispered, moving her hair from her face. Her eyes drifted open and she looked confused for a moment, then they went wide and she bolted up throwing her arms around Hope.

“Oh my god, you’re here,” she exclaimed, pulling the tribrid closer. Hope melted into her embrace taking in the smell of her and the feel of her, just Josie’s presence was overwhelming. She had to fight against her wolf nature, her eyes nearly flashed golden, but she couldn’t let herself go down that road. Josie wasn’t hers, no matter how much she wished she was. “When did you get back?” 

“Insanely early this morning,” Hope answered then immediately turned the attention back to Josie,” What are you doing out here Jo?” 

The siphoner glanced around like she hadn’t realized where she was until Hope pointed it out,” oh, I came out here last night to clear my head cause I couldn’t sleep, but I must have dozed off,” 

Hope tried to block out all of the noises and smells around her, with her heightened senses everything was intense and loud, she could hear birds, insects, running water and heartbeats all the time. She forced herself to focus on Josie, this whole sleeping thing seemed to be a recurring problem,” so does this not being able to sleep thing happen a lot?” 

“Recently yeah,” Josie looked down,” I’ve been having nightmares,” 

“Do you want to talk about them?” Hope asked, taking a seat next to her on the couch. She wanted to give her space but she was being drawn to the younger girl. 

“No, not really,” Josie moved closer, draping the blanket over Hope so they were sharing it. She leaned against her, obviously exhausted from a lack of sleep,” I just wish they would stop,” she sighed.

She didn’t know how to help her not knowing what the dreams were about, but she wouldn’t force Josie to talk about it if she wasn’t ready, so she did the only other thing she could,” well when you can’t sleep my door is always open.” 

She was met with a small smile,” thank you that means so much,” Josie’s sincerity always touched Hope, she just couldn’t resist it. Josie snapped out of whatever bubble encompassed them,” What time is it?” she asked blinking. 

“Oh, you definitely missed first hour,” she joked, causing Josie to groan and throw her head back. 

“God we better go,” Josie said, grabbing Hope’s hand and dragging her back to school.

Josie started joining Hope in her room most nights, sometimes they talked sometimes they didn’t, but the night always ended in them holding each other as they slept. Lizzie hadn’t mentioned it, Hope wasn’t even sure if she noticed but either way she wasn’t complaining. 

Every time she looked at Josie she felt like her heart was going to beat out her chest, she was barely keeping it together. Never had she imagined that she was going to be head over heels for her best friend who was basically living with her, and completely unable to tell her how she felt. She and Josie had never been closer, mentally, and physically, they were together all the time, talking, sharing, and touching. It was the small innocent, light touches that drove Hope out of her mind, and Josie had absolutely no clue what she was doing to her every time they brushed shoulders or held hands. 

One night Josie didn’t come, it wasn’t uncommon, she still spent the night with her sister in their room sometimes, but Hope was left alone. She laid awake in her suddenly way too empty bed, unable to sleep. The hours ticked by as she tossed and turned. The moon was high when a knock came on her door, Josie had stopped knocking a long time ago, but who else could it be. 

When she opened the door she found Josie on the other side clad in her matching blue pajamas and sobbing silently. The hallway was dark and still as Hope ushered the younger girl inside, tears streaming and shaking. They were both silent as they crashed together in a hug, she was holding Josie up as she closed the door behind them with her magic,” Do you want to talk about it?” she whispered offering her support. 

Slowly they made their way to the bed and curled together, Josie’s head on Hope’s chest as her sobs quieted and turned to sniffles,” No,” she answered pressing her eyes closed,” just distracted me, tell me a story,” 

Hope thought for a moment, stories running through her mind in flashes, wondering which one she could possibly tell Josie to make her feel better. None came to mind,” Does it have to be a happy story?” she asked. 

“I guess not.” 

“Well then I hope you’re ready because you’re about to get the full tragic backstory,” with anyone else the thought of opening up and revealing herself would make her want to crawl into a hole and never come out, but with Josie, it was as if she’s always seen her even when Hope did her best to hide. Josie had already seen the worst of her and she hadn’t shied away. 

Josie looked at her with wide eyes, clearly shocked,” you sure?” 

Hope nodded and brought her hand to Josie’s cheek, delicately tracing her fingers over her skin, until she closed her eyes allowing Hope into her mind. There were no words that could describe the things Hope had been through, at least none that she could put together so instead, she opted to show her. 

She painted the picture of a baby so hated and feared that the world wanted her dead from her first breath, of a child, so loved that her family would do anything to keep her safe, of a girl who endured betrayal and deceit, and of the woman who faced every day with her head held high despite it all. A weight was lifted as the memories flowed between them like magic and when the magic stopped Hope placed them outside a small cafe in New Orleans sitting at a table drowning in sunlight and flowers. Josie didn’t even seem to notice where they were, she just stared at Hope with a look she couldn’t place, somewhere between admiration and wonder.

She stayed quiet to let Josie collect her thoughts, it was a lot to take in that’s why Hope was hesitant to share her story with people, she didn’t want their pity or judgment, but things were different with Josie,” Two things,” she said the sunlight making her glow.

“I’m all ears,” Hope said leaning forward, placing her head in her hands, giving Josie her undivided attention.

What Josie said next floored her,” You are so strong Hope, stronger than anyone gives you credit for,” she sucked in a shaky breath, trying to focus on the air in her lungs. When she failed to meet Josie’s eyes the younger girl reached across the table and took her hands in her own, offering support. Hope wasn’t used to praise or attention, she wasn’t comfortable with it but somehow Josie’s words hit home.” and secondly,” she said, changing the subject,” You had a crush on me,” she giggled, a bright smile forming on the girl's face.

“You already knew that,” Hope responded fighting off a smile. 

“I know but it makes me smile,” 

Hope would have let the earth turn to ash to keep that smile on her face. It terrified her. These feelings terrified her more than anything; she pushed them down and forced on a smirk, “Just keep smiling Jo,” 

Hope wished they could stay there forever, in their own little world, where the sun always shines and the flowers bloom, with no one to interrupt them, but she knew they couldn’t. The real world waited. Her eyes were starting to get heavy,” We should get some rest,” she said pulling her hands away.

“You say that a lot,” Josie whispered,” get some rest’ you always say that when we get somewhere real,” 

She didn’t have an answer, but her heart started to pound harder, she chose not to respond instead she placed her hand on Josie’s cheek mirroring where it laid in real life. She tried to convey all her feelings with that motion, hoping that the younger girl could see what she couldn’t say. Gently she removed herself from her head and back into the darkness of her bedroom, wrapped up in Josie. Her breathing was even, the brunette was asleep, satisfaction flowed through Hope proud that she’d calmed Josie enough that she was able to sleep peacefully. Without thinking she pressed a kiss to the girl’s head and closed her eyes. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a million ideas running through my head for this story so it might just become a mash-up of them all


	10. Chapter 10

It was far too early for anything remotely loud or dramatic to happen. Sadly the rest of the world didn’t seem to agree with Hope’s sentiment. The entire school was buzzing, she could hear every whisper and murmur but they were so deafening that she couldn’t make out anything that they were saying. She was digging through her dresser, trying desperately to block out the rest of the student body as they collectively lost their minds, over what Hope was still unsure. 

Looking back Hope should have paid better attention to what was going on. Well, maybe not cause if she had things might have gone differently and she really liked how things turned out. 

Josie burst through her door, her hair still damp and screaming at the top of her lungs. Like everyone else Hope can’t tell what she’s saying, and she tries she really does but her brain is un-caffeinated and overwhelmed by noise. All she can seem to focus on is how beautiful Josie looks when she’s angry. Her eyes are glowing and stormy, cheeks flushed as she waved her arms wildly, obviously completely worked up over something. 

The door swings shut behind her and Hope barely registers that she did that with her magic even though she doesn’t remember doing it. Josie moves closer to her as she rants and raves and Hope feels her resolve start to slip.

They’ve spent nearly all of their free time together over the past week and she had tricked herself into believing she had these feelings under control. But something shifted right there, Hope’s not sure what maybe she never will be, but she pushes her drawer closed in a haze and moves closer like she’s caught in her orbit.

Never had she been focusing so intensely yet heard nothing. Logically she knew she was losing control and the cycles of the moon flashed through her head, but she pushed it away as soon as Josie’s hand landed on her arm. Something snapped and the next thing Hope knew she spun them, pushing Josie against the wall and kissed her hard. The world tilted when Josie kissed her back. It felt like time stopped as Josie’s lips moved against hers. Her hands moved to her hips and the small sound that the younger girl made in the back of her throat brought her back to reality. 

She pulled back as guilt washed over her, losing control was something she never allowed herself to do, no matter what. When she lost control people could get hurt, or worse she could decide to make out with her best friend potentially ruining the most important thing in her life.” Oh god- oh god,” Hope gasped stepping back,” I’m so so sorry,” 

She could hear Josie’s heart beating out of her chest, she was still leaning back against the wall, eyes wide and cheeks somehow even more flushed then when she came in. Hope started rambling, words spilling out that she wasn’t even aware of just desperately trying to fill the silence that encompassed them. She couldn’t tell where Josie’s head was, normally she could read her well but right now it was like they were on two separate planets. Dread filled her. 

Josie was trembling and she surged forward till she had her hands on Hope’s face and was pushing them both backward. Now Hope’s heart was beating out of her chest. Their lips met gently this time and Hope’s knees buckled as she ran into her bed, she collapsed as ungracefully as possible without breaking the kiss. It deepened as  Josie slid onto her lap and ran her hands through her hair, a growl grew in her chest as she grabbed her hips and pulled her closer. 

The need for air forced them apart momentarily as they pressed their foreheads together breathing deeply. “Hope,” the siphoner started softly.

“Yes?” she breathed terrified of breaking whatever spell had come over them.

“Don’t ever apologize for kissing me,” she punctuated the statement with another kiss, and Hope smiled against her. 

  
  


They lay curled together on Hope’s bed- fully clothed- and happier than either of them can remember being in a long time. They fit together like puzzle pieces, legs tangled together and hands intertwined with Josie’s head resting on Hope’s chest. 

“That was not at all how I expected you to react,” Josie giggled, glancing at her with eyes that she could drown in. 

Once again guilt knotted in her stomach,” for the sake of transparency,” she started causing Josie to tilt her head slightly,” I didn’t hear a thing you said when you walked in,” 

“What?” she laughed turning on her side and pulling away slightly so they were facing each other and nose to nose. 

She paused, trying to figure out the best way to phrase what she needed to say next,” Well it’s a full moon tonight and I haven’t shifted in a while so I kind of lost  control,” she waited for Josie to recoil, to realize that she was unsafe to be around and bolt like any sane person would. “But I’m ready to listen now,”

Josie didn’t meet her eyes for a second, struggling with something internally, ”Penelope Park came back to school this morning,” That was not what Hope expected to hear. Her eyes flashed golden and she unconsciously pulled Josie closer again.” wow you’ve really got this whole possessive wolf thing working for you,” 

“Sorry,” she mumbled and forced herself to loosen her grip. 

“What did I say about apologizing,” Josie stated placing a chaste kiss on her lips. 

“That’s why you were so upset this morning?” Josie didn’t answer, she didn’t have to it was obvious that whatever run-in she had with the “she-devil” this morning had made her uncomfortable. 

Penelope Park would add another hiccup to their already insanely new relationship if this even was a relationship. Maybe Josie didn’t want a relationship, maybe she didn’t want Hope, maybe she wanted to go be with Penelope and Hope had just ruined the best friendship she’d ever had. 

“Don’t do that,” Josie said pulling Hope out her head,” Penelope doesn’t change anything between us” the words were sweet but they still didn’t make her feel better. She pulled away and swung her legs over the side of the bed so she was sitting with her back to Josie. She heard Josie sigh behind her. 

Next thing she knew Josie’s arms were wrapped around her and her head was resting on her shoulder and goosebumps erupted on Hope’s neck where she could feel her breath. “I’m not going anywhere, Hope. You are officially stuck with me, Penelope or  no Penelope,” against her better judgment a smile spread across her face. She shifted just enough that she could press her face to Josie’s, they aren’t kissing they are just enjoying the contact. 

“Well you’re stuck with me too,” Hope mumbled, “ but we actually do have to go to class today. I’m on thin ice with the number of days your dad is going to let me skip,” 

“No- no class just snuggle,” Josie cried pulling Hope back down into the bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a shorter chapter but...


	11. Chapter 11

Hope stood at her locker, absentmindedly searching for a binder for a class that she learned nothing in. This morning was a whirlwind and she was still spinning, not even the threat of Penelope Park could knock her off the cloud she was floating on. Students shuffled passed her in a blur until she was suddenly grabbed on the shoulder and spun away from her locker. 

“Have you heard?” Lizzie nearly screeched, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and swishing behind her. 

The only thing she could be talking about was Penelope Park, “ Yeah I heard, “ Hope answered, doing her best to remain impartial. She couldn’t tell Lizzie what happened this morning even if she was desperate to tell her best friend that the girl she’d been in love with for god knows how long actually had feelings for her. It wasn’t her place to tell, Josie needed to be the one to tell her sister, not Hope.

“And what the hell are you going to do about it Mikaelson?” she jabbed halfheartedly. Hope froze, unsure of what to say, Lizzie couldn’t possibly be insinuating what Hope thinks she is,” look whatever is going on with you and my sister isn't my business, even if it is painfully obvious, but you need to make your move now before the she-devil does.” 

A smile crept across her face as she forced down her laugh,” wait are you telling me to hit on your sister?” this day couldn’t possibly throw any more curveballs,” I thought we were ‘never going to happen’ “ 

Lizzie rolled her eyes dramatically,” please don’t mock me. The thought of you two together is unnerving but you’re obviously good together, much better than with Voldemort.” 

Was that a compliment? She wasn’t sure. “Look I appreciate that but you should probably talk to Josie about this,” that was all she could say on the matter, and if she kept talking she would just give away the truth. 

She was suddenly aware of a pair of eyes watching them from across the hall. With a quick glance, she found that the eyes belonged to Penelope herself, she was not so subtly watching them, probably wondering what could have happened that would cause Hope and Lizzie to become friends. In her defense, it was nothing short of a miracle. She shot her a smirk then turned her attention back to the blonde twin. 

She turned them away from the prying eyes of the nosy witch as Lizzie continued,” Do something Hope,” she growled now aware of Penelope too. 

“Talk to Josie,” she articulated trying her best to get her point across in so few words. It almost worked, Lizzie looked intrigued and suspicious to say the lease. 

With that, she shoved her things in her bag and headed to class. Her heart picked up when she remembered that she had first hour with Josie, with Lizzie too but Josie was the one she really needed to see right now. 

She slipped into the room unnoticed and found her seat, it was three desks away from where Josie sat. She wished they had been closer at the beginning of term so they  hadn’t sat so far away from each other, well Hope sat far away from everyone but that’s not the point. 

When the teacher began talking, Hope pulled out a scrap of paper and began to scribble on it  _ Lizzie’s on my ass, you need to talk to her asap.  _ When the ink dried she crumpled the paper up and used her magic to transport it into Josie’s pocket. It was a strange spell that not many people knew about and that definitely wasn’t taught here, but she used it to talk to her family regularly, like sending text messages in a place where phones weren’t allowed. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her pull it out and read it before sending a response. What _ happened?  _

_ She thinks you’re going to get back with P and that I can do something to stop it. I wonder where she got that idea? _

Josie giggled and shot a mischievous look at her. I'll _ talk to her at lunch, promise,  _ and then signed with a small heart that makes Hope’s stomach do annoying things. 

After that, she makes an honest effort to pay attention she really does, but her hormone and magic-filled brain has other ideas, that involve her zoning out like a lovesick teenager until the intercom clicks on overhead and calls her to the headmaster’s office. 

Her stomach drops. What are the chances this is about her making out with his daughter this morning? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the shorter chapter but I've been working out the plot. all feedback is appreciated! Hope yall enjoy!


	12. Chapter 12

  
Josie’s leg bounced erratically as she waited for her sister to meet her for lunch. She’d chosen a secluded spot away from people so they could talk without being interrupted by half the school who wanted their input on unimportant things, most days she wouldn’t mind but today she needed her sister’s attention. She shouldn’t be nervous. Their relationship had improved a lot over the past few months and Lizzie just wanted her to be happy, but she was still slightly terrified to tell her about her budding relationship with Hope. At the thought of the tribrid Josie’s heart sped up and her cheeks flushed. She couldn’t believe that someone as amazing and beautiful as Hope could like her. She was plain, nothing special, just a normal teenage girl- with magic- but otherwise just like everyone else. Deep down she knew that this kind of thinking was a problem but that’s an issue to unravel for another time, perhaps on a day when the girl she’s been secretly in love with didn’t kiss her before class.

  
She’s grinning to herself completely lost in thought when Lizzie shows up. Her twin notices something is up instantly, “ What happened?” she asked, smirking as she plopped down her plate across from Josie.

  
“What- what makes you think something happened?” she stuttered taking a sip of her drink, trying to pretend that she wasn’t a mess.

  
“Oh come on,” Lizzie answered, “ You’ve got starry eyes and…” her voice faded out as her face fell and turned sour. “Please tell me this isn’t about the she-devil.”  
Josie wanted to laugh. She should have been prepared for this, Hope had told her that Lizzie thought that she was going to get back with Penelope, it was a ridiculous thought. She cared for Penelope’s well being- she always would- but her heart belonged to Hope now, even this early in the relationship she felt like it always would.

  
“No this isn’t about Penelope I swear,” she laughed, watching her sister sag into her chair in relief.

  
“Thank god.”

  
Now came the hard part, Lizzie and Hope hadn’t always been the best of friends, in fact, they were enemies and it was Josie’s fault, but now they were close and Josie didn’t want anything to disrupt that. She would feel awful if she was the reason for another rift between the two. She pushed food mindlessly around her plate, “ this is about Hope actually.”

  
Lizzie squinted at her, daring her to keep talking with a look, “ What about her?”

  
“Well- um -well we,” Josie stumbled her way around her confession until Lizzie put her out of her misery.

  
“Oh my god are you two together?” her face was unreadable, a mix between disbelief and shock.

  
Josie took a deep steadying breath, “ Yeah we are,” she answered before she realized that that might now be true, “ well at least I think we are, we haven’t really talked about it.”

  
A weight was lifted off her shoulders when Lizzie grinned at her and took her hand over the table, “ Finally,” she groaned with a good-hearted eye roll.

  
“What? You knew?” Josie breathed, blood rushing to her cheeks. Embarrassment coursed through her at the thought of her sister noticing and speculating on her love life behind her back. She was used to being the one watching not being watched.

  
“Of course,” she gloated,” You act completely different when you’ve got someone in your sights and Hope likes to think she's all mysterious and broody but as soon as you get to know her she’s an open book.” neither statements were wrong.

  
“You aren’t upset?” Josie asked, still shocked by Lizzie’s reaction.

  
“Give me a little more credit Jo. I made my peace with you two the minute you started sleeping in her room more than ours,” Josie lowered her eyes, her cheeks heated once again, “ Does she make you happy?”

  
The question throws her for a loop. This was the happiest she’d felt in a long time, Hope supported her and fought for her and always put Josie’s needs first. A small smile flick across her face, “ Yeah she does,” she sighed.

  
“Good,” Lizzie commented, “ but if she screws this up I’ll have to kick her ass.”

  
Josie shouldn’t have expected any less, “ You can try, “ she teased.

Hope’s stomach was in knots as she made her way to the headmaster’s office, there was no way he knew her about her feelings for Josie but she still dreaded that she was about to get his strange version of shovel talk. She slowed her pace to a trudge, giving herself more time to stew.

  
That was a mistake. If she had known who was following her through the hallway she would have moved quicker. If she hadn’t been inside her head so much she would have heard or sensed Penelope Park trailing her unstealthily.

  
Penelope grabbed her arm and jerked her to the side. When she got her wits about her and saw her, her stomach dropped. She had nothing to feel guilty for, Penelope and Josie had broken up a long time ago and Josie was completely allowed to date whoever she wanted whether Penelope was at the school or not. “We need to talk,” she said in a hushed voice glancing around like they weren't standing alone in a hallway.

  
“Do we?” Hope answered, deciding that playing dumb was her best bet.  
Penelope rolled her eyes, “ We need to talk about Josie.” Hope sighed trying to think of the best way to get herself out of this conversation.

  
“Whatever you have to say you should say to her not me,” she retorted as she yanked her arm away and started back down the hallway, suddenly desperate to get Dr. Saltzman’s office, no matter what he needed to see her about.

  
“I want to talk about the merge,” she called behind her, and Hope stopped dead in her tracks. The merge had been in the back of her mind since her talk with Josie on the roof in New Orleans, she’d gone through dozens of ideas and none had panned out or been realistic. She was at a dead-end but she didn’t want to talk to Penelope about it.

  
Except, maybe Penelope had a plan, a plan that she was confident enough in to come to Hope with. Hope turned eyeing her, she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to save the twins no matter how much she wanted to, but she couldn’t handle it right now, not when she was needed in the headmaster’s office, “ Later,” she said, “ I’ll find you later.

  
With that she turned and left, leaving Penelope in the dust. She walked the rest of the way in a daze until she was outside the door and knocking. The door swung open and she was greeted by a very uncomfortable looking Dr. Saltzman who ushered her in stiffly.

  
Oh god, this was going to be about her and Josie.

  
Caroline stood behind the desk and smiled kindly at her but stayed silent until Dr. Saltzman was back. Raf was there too, he sat wide-eyed and slightly pale and wouldn’t meet Hope’s eyes. She took the seat next to him, staying quiet until she knew for sure what this was about.

  
“We’re so sorry to pull you out of class Hope but we thought that you could help with this situation,” Caroline’s voice was sweet as honey and steady, she seemed completely calm unlike everyone else in the room.

  
“What’s going on?” she asked, worried.

  
Dr. Saltzman cleared his throat, “ Well earlier in the school year while you were… away and Rafael was trapped in his wolf form, we did a heritage test to try and find a way to turn him back and we found his father by doing so,” Hope remembers back to the night they saved the Saltzmans from the prison world, she’d seen a man entering the school with Raf but at the time she didn’t know who he was.

  
Still unsure of how this applied to her she forced her words out, “Wow that’s amazing congrats Raf,” she and Rafael had a bumpy history and their views on family differed drastically but none the less she was happy for him. He smiled numbly at her but didn’t say anything.

  
“That’s actually not what we called you here to talk about,” Caroline commented, pushing the conversation back on track with ease.

  
“Yes we are actually here to talk about Rafael’s mother’s side of the family,” there was a dramatic pause like they expected her to put all the pieces together herself. She’s good but not that good. “You see, the only relative shown was very distant so we didn’t pay it any attention, but upon closer inspection, it appears that Rafael is from a very old and powerful werewolf bloodline.”

  
Finally, they were getting somewhere. She blinked at Raf and cocked her head, she wanted him to talk but he was silent as ever so she asked,” What bloodline?” the only werewolf bloodlines that were prominent enough to show up on a lineage test were those of the seven original packs. They were powerful and ancient but now mostly nonexistent if the lines still survived they didn’t publicly announce their heritage due to the danger.

  
Dr. Saltzman and Caroline cut their eyes at each other before continuing, “ The Malraux pack,” the words hung heavy in the air. The only thing that could have shocked her more would be if he had been from her pack, but this was a close second.

  
She sucked in air through her nostrils loudly, “Woah,”

  
“Do you know what that means,” Rafael shot suddenly breaking out of his coma, “ because I sure as hell don’t and nobody will tell me anything.” his frustration was obvious and she couldn’t blame him.

  
“We thought it would be best for Hope to explain since she has some experience with things like this,” Caroline said and Hope’s jaw clenched as she realized that they were dropping this on her. She had enough on her plate without trying to do their jobs as well. But as they scurried from the room, the weight of what this revelation meant hit her. Not only did Raf have more family out there -well one more family member to be exact- but that person was a part of her family also.  
She composed herself and tried to find the best way to explain what this meant for him. “Ok,” she started,” so this pack that you’re a part of is one of the seven original werewolf packs.” his eyes went even wider and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

  
“And that’s a big deal?” he asked.

  
“Yes and no,” she answered,” it’s a big deal to some more traditional wolves but it’s safer for you to keep it on the down-low.

  
“Why?” he groaned.

  
“Umm well when the seven packs get together they can create some very powerful stuff and in the past, people have tried to take advantage of that,” she really hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions the answers were dark and she didn’t feel like going into it right now.

  
“So me being a Malraux that means I’m from some big and influential pack?” she couldn’t tell if he was hopeful or not.

  
“Not exactly,” she chewed her bottom lip in thought, “ the Malraux’s are mostly extinct now, there’s only one left that I know of, but I can put you in contact with her if you want,”

  
Hope held her breath. Keelin was one of the best people that she knew and she deserved the best things in the world. Raf did too. The longer she thought about it the happier she got for the two of them, each finding a long lost family member, she hoped they could be happy. When Raf didn’t answer quickly her heart sank and she quickly backtracked, “ But if you decided you don’t want to know her I’m sure she would understand.”

  
This seemed to only confuse him more, “ You would tell her about me even if I wanted nothing to do with her?”

  
Not telling Keelin never crossed Hope’s mind. “ Of course, she deserves to know as much as you do.”

  
She was quiet now, letting him think things over. “What’s she like?”

  
She smiled softly, happy to get the chance to gush about her family,” her name’s Keelin and she’s a doctor, from Texas but now lives in New Orleans,” he leaned closer in his chair as Hope pushed her hair out of her face,” she’s one of the kindest people I know, I mean she has to be to put up with me and my crazy-ass family.”

  
The sun shown in through the windows and Hope wondered just how much class she was going to get out of today for this. “Why don’t you give her my email,” he mumbled causing Hope to grin from ear to ear.

  
She was pretty sure that Keelin was working today and even though she was bursting to share the news she’d just learned, she knew that Keelin hated to be interrupted at work and that she wouldn’t be able to focus the rest of the day if she learned this now. “Of course,” she answered, “ I’ll call her first thing in the morning.”

  
She ducked out of the office after that and hoped that Dr. Saltzman and Caroline would go back in now and help him in ways that she couldn’t.

  
She had a rather uneventful rest of the day, thankfully. She went to class after class and actually did her work and unsubtly watched Josie the whole time. She found herself skipping lunch and holding herself up in the library, searching in vain for any new information on the merge.

  
She dragged herself back to her room at the end of the day tired and worn down but that all melted away when she found Josie waiting for her there.

  
“Hey,” the younger girl piped up. Hope grinned and went to her, “Where did you disappear to today?” she asked.

  
“Your parent’s needed my help with something today,” she said vaguely. She would love to share everything that happened with Josie, but it wasn’t her story wasn’t her’s to tell.

  
“Care to share?” it wasn’t a push for information, it was just Josie reminding her that she was here to listen and help always.

  
“I wish but it’s not mine to share,” Josie understood and dropped the subject. Hope wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled, relishing the closeness. She closed her eyes and sighed, letting herself relax into the younger girl’s arms.

  
“I talked to Lizzie today,” she said calmly. She knew Josie was nervous about telling her sister but Hope never was. Her run-in with Lizzie in the hallway earlier that day was enough to put her nerves at ease.

  
“How’d it go?” she asked, resting her head on Josie’s shoulder.

  
“Surprisingly well. She’s actually ok with this, us.”

  
“Good,” Hope answered before climbing into bed and pulling Josie with her. The siphoner was peaceful in Hope’s arms, she could listen to the sound of her heartbeat forever, the soft reminder that this perfect girl was real and alive in her arms. And magically she had feelings for Hope despite everything, her past, her family, her actions, this girl still wanted to be with her.

  
They held each other, silently just enjoying each other’s presence until Hope fell into a deep and fitful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is me giving Rafael the backstory he deserves, plus both girls being smitten. Hope yall enjoy!! all feedback is enjoyed and appreciated.


	13. Chapter 13

Hope couldn’t remember how the dream started, it was all foggy and disorientating. She tossed in her sleep fighting against the dark forces pulling at her mind, but despite her efforts, she plunged into the dream head first. 

She was standing in the forest, the one in Mystic Falls that surrounded the school, but it was slightly different. The trees and underbrush were denser but somehow newer, younger. There was a flash of birds flying overhead, their wings pounding like a heartbeat in her ears, making it impossible to focus or figure out where she was. Disoriented she stumbled until she came across a clearing with a large bonfire. Smoke stung her eyes and curled upward blocking out the sky in a way that shouldn’t have been possible. The heat radiated around her causing beads of sweat to appear.

The birds suddenly reappeared, their cries filling the air as they swirled around, so in sync that it was as if they shared one mind. She crouched to avoid the snap of their wings and the sting of their beaks, her heart pounding and pulling dangerously in her chest. To her relief, the birds pulled back. That feeling was short-lived however as the birds regrouped a few feet away and in a strange cluster, they formed an odd shape. The blurred lines of the form solidified as the birds morphed, melting together into the shape of a woman. Hope stumbled backward but found that her feet were sluggish like the ground was sticking to the bottom of her shoes.

The form sucked in a ragged breath as she came into focus and for a moment Hope noted that she was a young woman with light red curly hair. That changed quickly, however, as she aged before her eyes becoming older and slightly shorter, hair still just as red, but she had a strangely familiar glint in her eyes. 

Hope couldn’t place her face, she felt like she should, but in her hazy dreamscape no name came to her mind, leaving her just as confused and alone as she was before. She was unable to speak as the older woman’s eyes land on her, they were a piercing blue. 

The woman started speaking, but Hope couldn’t make out the words, they seemed to snake through the air to her ears becoming distorted along the way. Strangely she didn’t feel threatened by this woman, power radiated from her, but it was more familiar than anything else. Power didn’t frighten her at this point, she was raised around people with ungodly power and she herself had grown into her own, so when the woman grabbed Hope by the arm and raised her voice she found herself straining to make out her words instead of flinching away. 

A voice broke through the haze, but it wasn’t the woman she was listening for, she recognized it as it called her name, echoing around in her head. The dream around her began to fade as the words got louder, but the fingers clenching her arm only got tighter, trying to keep Hope there. But with Josie’s voice calling to her, Hope fought back prying herself away and letting herself get shaken awake.

Josie is above her, staring at her with worried dark eyes as she gently pets her hair, which Hope finds strangely comforting. “Hope,” Josie’s voice was once again a whisper in the dark,” Are you ok?” 

Hope gulped, finding her bearings, “ yeah,” she rasped shifting so she could sit up, “ just a bad dream.” she could see the worry etched across her face. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

Surprisingly she did, she desperately wanted to tell her about the flocking birds and the intense eyes of the unnamed woman, but she found she couldn’t. The dream was dissolving from her memory like a page in water, “ I don’t remember it,” she whispered, a sudden sharp pain sprouting behind her eyes. They lapsed into silence as Josie slipped her hand into Hope’s offering silent support. “What about your nightmares?” Hope asked suddenly remembering the dreams that up until recently had been plaguing her girlfriend. The term girlfriend spent her for a loop but it was far too late at night for her to consider their undefined relationship, “Have they been better?”

“Yeah, they have,” she said, scrunching her eyebrows,” It’s weird that as soon as mine get better yours start,” she commented and Hope could see gears turning in her head. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Hope yawned and pulled Josie close as they laid back down. “ come let’s get some more sleep,” Josie settled her head onto Hope’s chest. She pressed a light kiss to the younger girl’s head and with a content sigh fell back asleep.

  
  


They slept peacefully until morning and surprisingly they both awoke on time for class. As Josie went to shower, Hope grabbed her phone and called Keelin like she told Rafael she would the day before. Still barely awake she sat on the bed as the phone rang against her ear. 

Her aunt answered on the fourth ring and Hope didn’t need her supernatural hearing to hear Nik screaming in the background. “Hope!” Keelin exclaimed into the phone excited to hear from her niece, “ good morning sweetie.” 

“Hi Keelin,” Hope grinned. She was suddenly overwhelmed by the news she was about to share. How exactly was she going to tell her that she had a surprise distant relative that went to Hope’s school that might want to meet her? “Um I need to talk to you about something” she stumbled awkwardly.

She could basically hear Keelin raising her eyebrows on the other sign of the line, ”What’s going on Hope?”

She took a deep breath before letting the words spill out of her and once she started she couldn’t stop. She tried to keep everything concise and simple but her words got jumbled as she struggled to tell Keelin the news. 

When she finally finished she’s met with stunned silence as Keelin tries to process. “Oh...wow ok,” was all she said

“Are you ok?” Hope asked suddenly worried that she would react poorly, which was crazy and impossible but still a fear none the less. 

“Yeah-yeah I’m just a little shocked is all,” Hope released a breath and raked her fingers through her knotting auburn hair. She wished Josie were here with her, not that the younger girl would know how to handle this situation any better than her but her presence would have been calming. It was scary how quickly she had come to rely on her.

“He told me to give you his email address so you can contact him if you want to,” she waited patiently as Keelin rushed around to find a pen and paper and then jotted it down as Hope recited it. 

“I will definitely do that,” she answered with a note of nervousness in her voice that Hope knew all too well from her many meetings of her family members over the years. “Maybe I can meet him when we come down for family day later this month,” she tried to sound nonchalant but she didn’t do a very good job. A smile spread across Hope’s face.

“This is so exciting!” she squealed which was very unlike her but she was caught up in the joy of a separated family finding each other. Her eyes widened and she gasped,” Oh and while you guys are here I can introduce you to my new girlfriend,” she made a mental note to talk to Josie about that word when she gets back. 

Keelin is shocked by this sudden change of topic,” A girlfriend?” she asked and blood rushed to Hope’s cheeks as she realized how suddenly and easily she had dropped that information. “Who is it?” she asked

Pulling back slightly, Hope danced around the answer,” it’s a surprise,” she grinned trying to keep her spirits high and not get overwhelmed with worry. This did nothing to detour her aunt, however. 

“Is it Josie? Please tell me it’s Josie,” she spoke quickly into the phone as Hope’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

“You’re no fun,” she groaned, secretly relieved that she didn’t have to hide the information.

“Yay, we like Josie!” Keelin announced like it was a completely normal thing for her to say. Hope was stunned and stood up suddenly so she could move aimlessly around her room while talking. 

“What? Have you guys talked about this?” she dreaded the thought. Her family’s love was everything to her but sometimes their direct attention made her skin crawl slightly. She was comfortable with them of course but the spotlight wasn’t her favorite place to be.

Keelin scoffed, “ Oh sweetie that’s what our groupchat is for,” she groaned, remembering that her family had a separate groupchat specifically to talk about her. 

“You’re all crazy,” she said bluntly, causing her aunt to laugh. They said their goodbyes and Hope tosses her phone to the bed as she tries to focus on getting ready for the day. However, she is easily distracted by the many pictures covering her desk and side table of her family. 

Talking to Keelin reminded her of just how much she missed them, even though she spent time with all of them in New Orleans very recently. Still, sometimes it was like a piece of her was missing, she felt a magnet drawing her toward them no matter where they were. When she was younger she imagined leaving the school to traveling across the country or the seas till she got to them. 

There were dozens of pictures spread out across her room, of her with them and even some of them before her. She’s so enthralled by them that she doesn’t notice Josie reentering the room. The girl was dressed for school but her hair was curled up in a towel on top of her head. She snuck up behind Hope and wrapped her arms around the older girl’s waist and resting her head on her shoulder. “Do you miss them,” she asked after noticing the strange air surrounding the Hope. 

“Yeah,” she said simply and knocking her head against Josie’s lightly. 

Josie untangles herself so she can grab one of the pictures and examine it. The slightly aged photo had a dark frame that contained several figures in fancy evening dress standing on a set of stairs. Hope smiled, this picture was the only one she had that contained all of her father’s siblings (minus Freya of course), it was actually Freya who insisted that she know this photo because it was the only way for her to know her uncle Finn. “Who are all of them?” Josie asked. Hope was pretty sure that Josie already knew but she was happy to talk about them either way.

“Well you’ve met most of them,” she commented, pointing out her father, uncles Elijah and Kol and her aunt Rebekah. “This is my late uncle Finn,” she motioned to the tall solemn-looking man with dark hair. “And that is their mother Esther,” her eyes fall on the older woman with light red hair and all the air leaves her lungs.

The face from her dream flashed into her mind and her knees buckled. She caught herself before Josie noticed, she was still studying the picture, “You look a little bit like her,” she commented, flicking her eyes to Hope’s face, “ the eyes and hair.”   
She had never even thought about that. Honestly, she tried her best to not think about her grandmother, the stories she’s heard over the years have been less than stellar. Why would Esther be haunting her dreams? Many horrible thoughts ran through her mind but she quickly pushed them aside deciding to think about it later in private so Josie wouldn’t worry. 

Instead, she steered the conversation on to a happier topic. Once again she found that she didn’t know how to bring up what she wanted to talk about. She watched  Josie closely as she placed the picture back on the desk. Josie’s eyes snapped to her as she noticed Hope’s starring, “What?” she asked making a face. 

“Nothing,” she answered quickly before realizing that this was her chance and if she didn’t take it now she might never,” actually...would you be my girlfriend?” she spit out far too quickly. 

After her initial shock faded Josie grinned brightly and pressed a kiss to Hope’s lips. The butterflies in her stomach vanished. “Of course,” Josie breathed, smiling against her. For a wonderful moment, they were the only two people in existence and the world spun for them. Nothing else mattered but the girl in her arms right now. Josie pulled away abruptly,” I have to go tell Lizzie, “ she exclaimed before squeezing Hope’s hand and disappearing out the door. Hope yelled behind her that she would see them at breakfast but she doubts Josie heard her. 

With Josie gone, Hope wanders back to the photo, a sick dread fills her, her grandmother was smart, devious and above all else, patient. Whatever she was planning by sending Hope these dreams was most definitely well thought out. But was it evil? Would she hurt Hope or those she cared about? 

Honestly, she was unsure. Esther had a strong sense of family, but she was also known to go to the extremes to do what she deemed right even if it meant hurting her own blood. Whatever she was up to, Hope knew that she was going to keep her family and friends safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super happy with how this chapter turned out and I hope yall are too. like always all feedback is appreciated and enjoyed!


	14. Chapter 14

Today’s the day. Hope had spent two weeks dealing with an anxious Raf, a worried Landon, and her budding relationship all while trying to do school work and keep the school safe. To say she was overwhelmed and exhausted was an understatement, but today finally arrived. Visiting day. 

Keelin, Freya, and Nik should arrive within the hour and everything has already gone to shit. To be fair it started yesterday when the twins got sick. Josie swears that she’s not actually sick, that Lizzie’s sick and she just feels the symptoms because of twin magic, whether that’s true or not they have both have been shut up in their room to recuperate since yesterday morning. Hope stopped by and brought them breakfast first thing this morning and Josie is very adamant that she will still be able to join her for family dinner tonight. 

Rafael’s father, Walt, decided to surprise his son and come to family day so they could spend time together, so now they had another player in this already confusing game. Landon, on the other hand, was convinced that he was going to lose the only family that he has but instead of talking to his brother about this he kept it all bottled up so he always looked like he was going to vomit. 

Hope liked to think that she was good in high-pressure situations, she literally fought monsters for a living, but something about this situation was just too much for her.

She was waiting in her room, absentmindedly tidying, but with her supernatural hearing, she could here Raf pacing around downstairs. She made her way to her mini-fridge and pulled out a blood bag, she’d skipped her dinner last night and now she was hungrier than she was comfortable being in a school filled with potential food. 

Her ears and nose prick up as she senses her family arrives downstairs, her instincts say to rush down, but she wants to give Keelin and Raf a chance to get to know each other without her around, so instead she walked at a forced slow pace out of her room and downstairs. 

The school was filled with strangers. Parents, siblings, and grandparents roamed the halls, those who were aware of who she is, eyed her warily as she walked among them, she wanted to shy away but her pride kept her head held high and a classic smirk on her face. 

She rounded a corner and found her family standing in the halfway mingling politely with Raf and his father. Hope paused, still unseen so she could watch them. Keelin was smiling brightly, her hands moving as she talked and Freya stood slightly behind her with Nik asleep in her arms. It was still early and they had been driving through the night so she isn’t surprised that the young boy is still asleep, though she is sad that he isn’t awake to greet her.

Slowly she moves forward, hoping to seamlessly appear without drawing any attention or interrupting them, but of course, things never go quite as she plans. Landon  spots her over Keelin’s shoulder and smiles while motioning her forward. Heat flares on her cheeks as eyes flick to her and she slumps as she makes her way to them. Freya quickly gives her a tight awkward hug as they work not to disturb Nik and Keelin presses a kiss to her cheek. “Hello, young lady,” Hope recognizes the man who speaks vaguely, she’d seen him briefly when he dropped Raf off at the school months and months ago, but she’d never been introduced to him, “ Who are you?” there’s a charm to him that she can’t deny.

“I’m Hope, sir,” she answers, politely, with a small practiced smile. 

Freya cuts in,” this is my niece, Walt, she goes to school here too,” he grins and shakes her hand firmly. Raf visibly tenses next to her. This is what she’d wanted to avoid, she feared that her presence would make this entire situation much more awkward. People were beginning to swarm around them, Kaleb and his sister were nearby but Kim seemed more interested in Mg than him. 

They stood there making polite tense conversation as long as Hope could stand it before she tried to excuse herself. Her family, however, was having none of it, “ What about Josie, where’s she?” Keelin asked shooting her an embarrassing look. Hope’s cheeks flamed as she did her best to explain the whole magic twin sickness situation. 

Freya scrunched her eyebrows, “ well that’s a shame,” Nik shuffled in her arms but remained asleep, “ maybe she’ll feel better later and can join us for supper.” 

“Hopefully,” she answered, then turned to make her leave. 

A loud clash rings through the hallway and Hope snaps her attention toward the noise. Across the hall, a man had shattered a glass case holding their many second-place trophies and he sliced his palm open on the jagged piece. The smell of blood filled the air and Hope goes light-headed for a second. She was still drinking human blood unlike the rest of the students here but still the smell of blood so fresh hit her hard. All the other vampires around felt it too. 

As her eyes went dark and veins snaked down her face, Freya gripped her arm with a vice-like grip. Blood roared in her ears as she yanked away her eyes flashing dangerously golden.

She snapped back into herself, fighting back the bloodlust like she’d been trained to do by the many vampires in her family with their many years of experience. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, backing away. Across the room, Kaleb was holding Mg back and forcing him to get under control. Many of the students were experiencing similar things but none of this seemed to be completely losing control. The man was ushered away before anyone even had a chance to question how or why he broke the glass. 

When she turns her attention back to her family she is met by worried eyes, “ How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” Freya questioned clearly distressed by how easy her niece lost control. Her mind flashes back to the discarded blood bag in her room that she abandoned this morning so she could handle drama. 

Before she could answer Keelin cut in,” How long has it been since you’ve shifted?” both of her aunts were worried for her for completely different reasons. But she couldn’t blame them, she hadn’t been taking good care of herself recently, choosing o focus on others instead. 

Hope took a deep steadying breath, “ I’m sorry,” her words were slow and calculated,” I’ll go upstairs now and eat and I’ll go for a run tonight I promise.” she must have spoken louder than she intended while trying to escape the spotlight because she is overheard by Kaleb and Mg. 

“Upstairs?” Kaleb called in a joking manner, “ why would you go upstairs when all the blood bags are in the kitchen?” the comment was innocent but it was exactly the kind of thing that nobody needed to notice. Dr. Saltzman was aware that Hope was drinking human blood, but honestly, he couldn’t do anything to stop it, her family was insistent that she needs to be at full strength at all times. No bunny blood for her. Her normally skilled facial expressions must have faltered because Kaleb’s face changed as he realized that his comment had actually uncovered something.

Mg’s eyes narrowed at her and she sucked in air through her nose. “Why do you have blood in your room Hope?” he asked much more serious, borderline accusatory. Her walls flew up and she prepared to defend herself. 

“Oh my god, your drinking human blood aren’t you?” Kaleb said his voice in a low whisper. His temper flared as he recalled what he was put through after he had been caught doing the exact same thing. When she didn’t answer he took it as confirmation and his eyes nearly rolled back into his head as he spoke,” Of course you are, why would the great Hope Mikaelson have to follow the same rules that the rest of us do.” 

It was a fair jab. To an outsider, it would seem like she was allowed to do anything she wanted with little fear of punishment. She was going to try and salvage this situation but Freya spoke up before she could,” My niece does not need to explain herself to you,” she said with the calmness of someone who knew that she was one of the most powerful beings in the room. 

Mg scoffs loudly, “ Not surprised,” 

Hope’s lack of food and shifting was affecting her and her temper was running thin. Her hands twitched at her side as she struggled to keep herself under control. “Of course I have to follow rules here,” she nearly growls,” they just aren’t the same rules you have to follow.” her own privilege in the eyes of the other students was not lost on her but there was very little she could do about it. 

“Like what?” Kaleb said smugly, arms crossed in front of him in a way that infuriated her.

Her mind was spinning as she spilled all the things she was never supposed to tell the other students, “ Oh I don’t maybe me having to live here under a fake name for most of my life, or maybe its the fact that for me to even attend this school my mother  had to make a deal with the mayor saying that seventy-five percent of my family couldn’t set foot in the town.” she rambled.

“And you’ve been so good at following that rule,” Kaleb shot back motioning to Freya. It’s true that all of Hope’s remaining family had been on campus recently but that didn’t stop her vision from turning red.

“We decided that rule was stupid because the mayor shot me,” she screamed,” he murdered me, right there in those wood, in case you’ve forgotten.” her words sank like stones as the lights flicker above her. Whether it was her magic or Freya’s she was wasn’t sure. The two vampires stepped back, put off by her fury and lack of control that was so unlike the Hope they knew. 

“What?” Freya growled, she seemed calm except for her stormy eyes. Keelin stepped in and removed a still sleeping Nik from her wife’s arms, she recognized how quickly this situation had gotten out of hand and she knew how Freya was going to react. 

The secret Hope had worked so hard to keep was now out in the open and if she didn’t rectify it quickly her entire family would soon know and the streets of Mystic Falls would run red. “Freya I can explain,” she spoke trying to regain some kind of control. 

“Mathew Donovan shot you,” she stated plainly but the lights once again started to flicker. Hope knew what was going to come next. The mayor would suffer some kind of painful death that would get covered up as an animal attack or something else equally ridiculous, but no one would be able to do anything about it.

“What’s going on?” Raf mumbled behind them as Walt glanced around warily. This was not how this meeting was supposed to go. If she could get Freya alone she could try and calm her Keelin would still have time to get to know Rafael and his family. 

Nik lifted his head groggily and mumbled something Hope couldn’t quite make out, but Keelin shushed him and he fell back to sleep with ease. “Please calm down aunt Freya,” Hope pleaded,” he doesn’t deserve to die for this.” 

“Oh but my darling he does,” Freya responded. Hope might not want any more death but her family was dead set on eliminating anyone who posed a threat to her and now Matthew Donovan fits straight into that category. “And he will.” Hope was now used to hearing her family speak of death and killing as nonchalantly as they do but the other people here were clearly unnerved by this. 

“Alright let’s take it down a notch,” Keelin interjected, placing a hand on the back of Nik’s head,” I shouldn’t need to remind you that we have small ears here.” Nik, of course, was her way out of this. 

Hope stepped quickly and took Nik into her arms, reveling in the way his little arms wrapped around her neck. “Freya let’s go upstairs and put Nik to bed and then we will take a walk and talk about this calmly and like adults.” she seemed calmer now that her attention was on her son, but Hope doubted it would be that easy.

They left the stunned group and walked silently up the stairs. As much as Hope tried to block out all the sounds around her, her supernatural hearing didn’t have an on and off switch. As they walked away her ears lingered on the conversation below between Keelin and Raf. “Do you think Hope should have special treatment?” Rafael asks.

Keelin hesitated before answering,” I think that Hope’s enemies have infiltrated this school to hurt her before and that she always needs to be at her full strength to protect herself.” Raf didn’t respond.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! long time no update sorry about that but this was surprisingly hard for me to write and I'm still not completely happy with it but... anyway I hope yall enjoy and as always all feedback is appreciated and enjoyed.


	15. Chapter 15

The room was quiet and stiff as the twins laid sick with nothing more than a head cold and a low-grade fever. While her sister slept soundly across the room, Josie sat trying and failing to do school work. She hated being cooped up in her room, she felt useless, the only thing she could do to feel productive was homework. However, her pounding headache wasn’t making it any easier.

  
With a sigh of frustration, she discarded her books and stood from her bed and walked to the window. She threw open the curtains hoping to brighten the room and make her solitude slightly more bearable, however, she found outside was just as dreary and dark as their sick filled room.

  
The sky was grey and the wind was licking through the trees violently. With a sudden strange need to feel the wind on her face, Josie cracked the window letting in a cool breeze.

  
The air feels strange and thick. Not at all refreshing like she had hoped, but it did wake her up in a completely unexpected way. It was laced with magic, enough to make her skin tingle. The familiarity of it washed over her, and she realized that she recognized the magic. After all, she’d siphoned enough magic from Hope over the years to grow accustomed to how it felt. She lifted her hands and started siphoning magic from the air, she’d never done anything like this before, it was a strange revelation, but one that she couldn’t focus on right now.

  
What was happening that would cause Hope to be using this much magic? She was aware that Hope could have strange effects on the weather when she was upset or losing control, something must be going down and Josie wasn’t going to sit by and do nothing. She snapped the window closed and glanced at the still sleeping Lizzie as she slipped from the room. While Josie was feeling slightly under the weather, it was her sister who was truly sick, she simply had twin sympathy pains, she chose to take time off school to take care of her twin since their mother and father were busy running the school and still searching for a way to stop the steadily approaching merge. If “faking” being sick meant she got to spend more time with her sister than it was completely worth it.

  
She felt slightly guilty slipping away to go check on her girlfriend but she desperately needed to get out of that room and if Hope needed her then that was worth it too. She kept her distance from people as she made her way down the stairs, suddenly very aware that she was still in her pajamas and that her hair hadn’t been brushed in two days. She pushed her insecurities aside and rounded a corner.  
Sitting in front of the fireplace in the room across from the main door were Keelin, Raf, Landon, and a man that Josie didn’t recognize. Josie immediately warmed at the sight of Hope’s aunt, of all of her various relatives Keelin was one of the easiest to talk to and just generally the least intimidating, of all the possible Mikaelsons she could have run into she was glad it was her.

  
Keelin saw and grinned, “ Josie, it’s good to see you, are you feeling better?”

  
Josie ignored the question and got straight to the point,” Keelin I think something’s going on outside,” the woman’s smile faded and she stood with a worried look on her face as she moved to look out the nearby window.

  
She sighed upon seeing the worsening weather outside but didn’t seem overly worried, which Josie found strangely reassuring. “What is it?” Rafael asked, craning his neck to see out the window.

  
“They’re fighting,” she mumbles, not taking her eyes off the sky.

  
“Who’s fighting?” Josie asked, worry seeping into her voice. Her legs felt weak and shaky, Josie wanted to believe that it was from her lingering cold.

  
Landon piped up,” Hope and Freya?” and Josie’s confusion only grows. Were some straight answers really too much to ask? Her headache returns tenfold, with a steady thumping behind her eyes.

  
“Why?” she gasped, her voice strained from congestion,” What’s going on?”

  
Keelin turned back to them, her lips pursed,” there was an incident this morning,” whatever the incident was Keelin was obviously not happy about it. Josie didn’t have to be a genius to read her tense body language, crossed arms, and the slightly dangerous glint in her eyes, but it didn’t seem that she was going to elaborate,” Freya and Hope went outside to try and talk it through but it doesn’t seem to be going so well.” Josie let herself sit down on the couch next to Landon.

  
“Do their fights normally go like this?” asked the man who Josie didn’t know, motioning outside.

  
“Some days are better than others,” Keelin says,” but I’m sorry you had to see them on a bad day.” with that she excused herself and headed outside to break up the fight before it got any worse. Josie didn’t think twice before following her outside and the others strangely did the same.

  
The second she stepped outside the sheer amount of magic hit her like a truck, it seemed to seep through her pores, causing her skin to tingle and vibrate. She jerked slightly, pulling herself back together as they plunged into the woods. The magic pulled her, she could feel it like a string, it grew thicker the closer they got to where Hope and Freya were. She followed close behind Keelin assuming that the wolf was using her advanced senses to sniff out her family. The boys behind her seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable.

  
As the two Mikaelsons appeared in the distance, Josie could feel the magic coming in waves and hear the shouting. Hope was waving her hands in frustration and fury wrapped around Freya like an intense darkness. Not for the first time, Josie wondered what could have happened this morning to cause this hostility.

  
Josie’s hands glowed red as she started to siphon the magic, slowly clearing the air. The words they were shouting became louder. “Don’t you think enough people have died because of me already?” Hope cried and Josie’s heart sunk in her chest.

  
“He hurt you, Hope,” Freya growled,” He doesn’t deserve to live. He doesn’t get to live.” Her words were so frank that it almost seemed that this was a normal fight between relatives and not a death sentence. Realization washed over Josie that they were discussing the mayor. They pushed forward making themselves known.

  
“You don’t get to make that decision,” Hope whimpered, then she turned and her eyes locked with Josie’s, deep and blue and broken, for a moment before she turned and fled further into the woods.

  
Josie started to go after her, but Keelin grabbed her arm,” give her a minute,” she mumbled before turning her attention to her wife, who was fuming. Keelin’s face was skillfully neutral, she obviously was used to being a calming force and voice of reason in the family,” That’s enough Freya,” she said quietly, taking her hands in her own.

  
“No, this is not something I will just let go, it goes against everything I stand for,” Freya almost sounded desperate.

  
“I know but if Hope doesn’t want this then we should leave it be,” that might’ve been enough to deescalate the situation if Rafael hadn’t decided to pipe up.

  
“What gives you the right to go around killing people anyway?” he asked somewhere between smug and curious. Josie took a moment to feel sympathy for him, not only was he struggling with trying to get to know a new family, but he was also trying to navigate the strange and sometimes hostile relationship between the Mikaelsons. Josie had always heard stories of the family and had grown up with Hope and she still struggled to understand how they worked and communicated.

  
Freya’s eyes flared dangerously and she spoke without thought,” No one hurts one of my children, I don’t care who they are,” Keelin placed herself between the young werewolf and the angry Mikaelson with murder on her mind,” I would rather watch the world burn then let one of them get treated like I did.” to most that comment wouldn’t mean much, but Josie was more familiar with the tragic history of the Mikaelson family than most. She knew how much fighting had been done to keep Hope safe and how much was sacrificed.

  
“I know- I know,” Keelin said,” But look around Freya, she’s safe and happy and I know you don’t want to hear this but she is an adult.” Freya scoffed loudly.

  
“She’s eighteen.”

  
“Yes which means she’s old enough to make her own choices.” Keelin was making headway but Freya didn’t seem too happy about it,” you fought for her to have this life, now it’s time to let her live it.”

  
For the first time since they got there, the trees were quiet around them as magic drained from the air, leaving Josie feeling strangely empty. Freya’s eyes slipped closed like she was deep in thought. She released a breath, “ I should go find her,” Freya sighed.

  
“No,” Keelin interjected,” you go back to the school and check on Nik and I will go check on Hope.” an exhausted Freya didn’t argue, she pressed a kiss to her wife’s cheek and turned back to the school, the guys followed her after a pointed look from Josie.

  
They walked in silence until they found Hope at the clubhouse, sitting on the steps, her cheeks wet. She didn’t look up as she heard them approaching, she’d no doubt heard everything that had just gone down and had every right to be upset. They joined her on the steps and Josie slipped her hand into Hope’s choosing to stay quiet.

  
“I’m fine,” Hope said after a moment giving Josie’s hand a small squeeze, before turning her attention to Keelin,” Is she ok?”

  
“She’s calmer now, but I don’t know if that will stop her.” the words sunk like stones and Josie tried to come to terms with the mayor potentially dying soon and at Freya's hand. “...Hope I want you to know how proud of you I am,” she said and the tribrid’s eyes snapped up.

  
“What?” she asked.

  
Keelin smiles to herself and bumps her shoulder against her niece affectionately, “you know once upon a time I took an oath to do no harm, and I know that I haven’t exactly held that up but I think you are trying to do a good thing here.”

  
“Not that it’s going to do any good,” Hope commented, and Josie dropped her head onto her girlfriend’s shoulder, trying to offer support but not wanting to interrupt the moment between them.

  
She hated seeing Hope this upset and conflicted. “Honestly Hope, I wouldn’t care if the guy died, he is a grown man who killed a teenage girl who was helping them, if you decided he needed to die I wouldn’t care,” Hope laughed slightly, a welcomed sound in the tense room, “but I think it says a lot about you that you don’t want him to die.” tears were forming in Hope’s eyes and Josie was fighting them off herself.

  
Today had taken an abrupt turn from when she was sitting alone in her room trying to do homework to now sitting here comforting her girlfriend who was upset about the impending death of the man who had killed her. What a strange day. Warmth rushed to her cheeks as she imagined a lifetime of strange days like this with Hope. Hope had a thousand lifetimes to live, while Josie only had a number of years left. What a story, the girl who wouldn’t live past 22 and the all-powerful immortal tribrid, star crossed lovers. No, star crossed wasn’t the right word, they were doomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is a normal updating schedule? I definitely don't know. but anyways I hope yall like this chapter and as always any and all feedback is appreciated and enjoyed


	16. Chapter 16

Alone in her room, Hope found herself once again examining the picture of Esther. The dreams had been getting worse, her grandmother plagued her almost every night now and the dreams weren’t becoming any more cohesive. As much as she hated Esther she just wished the woman would tell her whatever she needed to say and then leave her alone. She was tired of the cryptic birds and the dark forests. 

Her mind was spinning, between the dreams and the pressures that come with her vampirism and her wolf side Hope finds herself overwhelmed more often than not these days. Things were too loud and intense for her to properly focus on anything, her temper and emotions were all over the place. With everything going on at the school Hope’s own self-care had fallen on the back burner. She hadn’t meant for it to happen but after years of never letting anyone in and only having to worry about herself, it was kind of nice to be able to worry about others for a while. 

Her aunts, however, put it in perspective and were very adamant that she starts to focus on herself more. Despite her fight with Freya she didn’t want to add any extra stress to her life so she was going to really try. 

The sun was setting outside as Hope was getting ready to go for a run in the woods. Her shoulders were tense from the weight of the day, but when Josie stepped through the door all her worries melted away. That always seemed to happen when she walked in, Hope hadn’t noticed it before. She couldn’t hide her grin as she pulled her close. It had been a really trying day, between her fight with Freya and the general stress of introducing Keelin and Rafael, she was exhausted and frustrated. Having her girlfriend here with her was a familiarity that she hadn’t realized she had been missing the past couple of days.

Hope hugged her tighter, lifting onto her toes to wrap her arms around Josie’s neck. “ I missed you,” she mumbled.

“Are you ok?” Josie asked, slipping her fingers into the tribrid’s hair. When she didn’t answer she continued,” why didn’t you go out to dinner tonight?” 

A slightly easier question to answer. “With everything that happened today, I figured I should step back and give Raf a chance to get to know them without as much Mikaelson drama,” she was incredibly happy for Raf to find his family, but for that to be Keelin was just a little overwhelming. It was two separate parts of her life colliding and she wanted everything to go perfectly. Even if that meant she needed to take a step back.

“They would have loved for you to go,” Josie commented. 

Of course, they would. They were very clear about that when Hope told them that she wasn’t going. “How are you feeling?” Hope asked to change the subject. 

Josie pulled back, “ better, but Lizzie still isn’t.” Hope’s face fell. If Lizzie still wasn’t feeling better that meant Josie was going to stay in their room tonight. That was probably a good thing since Hope was going on a run but the thought of coming back to an empty bed had her stomach in knots. She could not tell Josie that though she knew how important the twins were to each other and she never wanted to do anything to come in between them. “I’m here with you know though,” Josie added on sensing that Hope was upset. 

She grinned and pulled Josie in for a warm kiss. “Better be careful or I won’t let you leave,” she joked, “ I miss you too much,” it felt impossible how much Josie had broken down her walls in such a short amount of time. A little over a year ago the only time they spoke to each other they were at each other’s throats and now Hope couldn’t imagine going not having Josie in her life  
.   
“Be careful or I won’t leave,” Josie countered.

Hope chuckled, “ I guess I can survive without you for one more night,” she pulled back and flopped dramatically on the bed. The moonlight peeked through the windows and seemed to pull her outside. 

Josie followed close behind and joined her on the bed, her dark hair spilled around her like a halo,” whatever will you do without me,” simply just laying there next to Josie was the best part of Hope’s day. Her girlfriend had a calming presence that always put her at ease. 

Hope’s eyes slid closed as she took a deep breath in,” I’ll probably just go for a run,” she sighed. 

“How long has it been since you have changed Hope,” the question was slick but very pointed. Josie must have talked more to her aunts more than she had thought. 

“You’ve been talking to Freya,”

Josie sat up suddenly and looked at her,” don’t change the subject,” this was not a conversation that she wanted to have right now. “I’m serious Hope, you have to take care of yourself.” Josie slipped into the caretaker’s role with ease. She had always been good at that, but Hope never wanted to just be another person for Josie to put in front of herself. 

“You don’t have to worry about me Jo,” she said trying to ease the younger girl’s worries. Hope wasn’t nearly as good at being taken care of as Josie was at taking care. 

Josie stood abruptly from the bed and started waving her hands as she spoke. She must have been more worked up then Hope had realized, “ I know I don’t have to Hope, but I get to worry about you,” a flurry of emotions washed through Hope, “ You’re stuck with me now.” 

Stuck with Josie sounded like exactly where she needed to be. She could make it through anything with Josie by her side, no matter what. She had worked really hard to open up to people and she would work three times that hard to be worthy of keeping Josie. How did she end up with someone so amazing?

Hope crossed the room to a very tense and frustrated Josie. Words weren’t easy for her especially when she was feeling so much, so instead, she tried to show how she felt through actions. One hand hooked around Josie’s waist and pulled her in close, the other gripped Josie's hand. She heard her breath hitch and her heart speed up as Hope pressed a featherlight kiss onto her knuckles. Hope loved the way Josie’s lashes fluttered when she got flustered or caught off guard with physical affection. “ You are wonderful and I have absolutely no clue what I did to deserve you,” maybe not her most eloquent moment, but she got her point across. 

Josie’s face was flushed red and she smiled as Hope pulled her in closer, “ If we weren’t already dating I would say you were trying to woo me,” she joked

“Good.” Hope smirked,” because my goal is to woo you every day of our lives,” the words slipped out without her even realizing it, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t true. She wanted to spend every day with her. Josie’s reaction however wasn’t the same. She faltered and pulled away, just enough for Hope to realize what she had said wrong. She knew how worried her girlfriend was about the merge and the probability of surviving it. There were no good options when it came to the merge because either way one of the twins was going to die. “I’m so sorry Jo, I didn’t mean to-” 

“No it’s not your fault,” her voice was tight in a way that meant she was trying to fight off tears. Josie pressed her forehead to Hope’s as she continued,” you are... perfect Hope, you have to know that, but you’ve lost so much already and I don’t want to just be someone else that you lose.” Hope’s chest was tight. She had no idea that this was how Josie felt. “ I can’t hurt you like that.” 

Hope was frozen with shock. This entire conversation had just turned on its head and she was spinning. She tried to pull herself back together as Josie backed away. “Jo I’ve worked my entire life to be good and not give in to some of my darker impulses,” Josie scrunched her eyes in the cute way that she does when she is confused,” but you should know this, beyond you, there is no force on this earth that could take you away from me because I have lost too much already and I am selfish.” 

“You can’t know that,” Josie responded, tears running down her face. She was pulling back, Josie doesn’t like to feel like a burden or to show her weaknesses through emotions. She hates to be the center of attention almost as much as Hope does. These are things that have been obvious to Hope since they were kids, she’s always seen Josie mainly because they were both hiding in the same way. 

“I’m not going to stop fighting for this Jo,” she pushed forward, trying to make sure that her girlfriend knew that she was seen, but at the same time, she didn’t want to be overbearing or overwhelming. Emotions were running high as they both watched each other in tense silence, neither quite sure where to go from here. 

They walked to the twins’ room in silence. Hope focused on the feel of their hands together, two hands interlocked grounding them together. The hallway was dark and all the other students were in their rooms due to curfew being 15 minutes ago. 

Freya and the others should be back from dinner by now. Unease washed over her as she thought of the possibility of someone finding the mayor’s body in town in the morning, Keelin had calmed them both down after their fight but she still believed that Freya would take it upon herself to defend her. This was common in her family, they fought often and could be awful to each other but they would fight and kill for each other, anyone else that tried to hurt a member of her family would face the full force of the original family.

They paused as they reached the room and Hope didn’t want to leave. She knew that Josie needed space and that she needed to take care of her sister, but she hated leaving when she knew Josie was upset. 

She was so much in her own head that she was caught off guard when Josie pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was soft and sweet and Hope melted. “Goodnight Hope,” Josie whispered then she slipped through the door and disappeared into her old room.

“Night Jo,” she sighed, allowing herself a moment to try and find peace in the darkness, before turning and walking away. The run she was about to go on was much needed. She had a thousand things running through her head, worries, ideas and plots and shifting would give her the perfect opportunity to sort everything out. 

As she heads towards the main doors she senses something, breathing in the dark and a steady heartbeat. Her heightened wolf sense of smell made it very easy to figure out who it was,” you should know better than to try and sneak up on my Penelope,” 

“You're up to something,” she commented nonchalantly, “ if it has to do with the twins and the merge I want in.”   
To say she had a plan was kind of a stretch. She had half of a part of a plan, but it was better than nothing and if anyone could figure it out it was her. 

“I’m working on something, but tonight you’ll only slow me down,” Penelope crossed her arms and made a face, clearly unhappy. “Whenever I need help you will be the first I come to,” she doubted that she would be able to pull this off on her own and she didn’t want to involve the twins until she knew that it was going to work, so having Penelope’s help could be a good thing.

She turned and walked away, leaving Penelope at the school as she headed toward the woods. Her plan made her uneasy but she had an opportunity and she wasn’t going to waste it. Right now she was in regular contact with one of the most powerful witches to ever walk to earth, the inventor of dark magic, her grandmother. She didn’t know what Esther wanted with her but she knew that she wanted something from her. 

The Mikaelsons are known for manipulating and dealing to get what they want and she could do it as well as the rest of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not mean for this to get as angsty as it did...oops but there is some fluff in there too. I hope yall enjoy and as always all feedback is appreciated and enjoyed!


	17. Chapter 17

Not for the first time that Hope wondered if it was strange that she almost never turned on a full moon, she’s done it twice, maybe three times in the three years since she triggered her curse. It wasn’t something she did on purpose, at least she didn’t think that she did. Tonight as she ran under a sliver of a crescent moon, she tried to remember what it felt to run with her pack in the bayou under the full moon, but she found that she barely could. One of the amazing things about her pack was that they could control when they turned, so now most full moons they relaxed and enjoyed their freedom. 

She started her run tonight with a goal in mind, but she was planning on running for a while to take the edge off of her nerves, however that was not what was happening. Her instincts were heightened in her wolf form, but tonight was different, there was a strange magic in the air that was overwhelming her senses. It was pulling her, guiding her through the forest. In the back of her mind she figured that this could be the work of her grandmother Esther, but as a wolf the consequences of that seemed very far away. She’d lost track of how long she had been running or where exactly she was, the ground was solid under her feet as she burst through the tree line and saw a towering mansion in the distance. 

It was a deep cream color that resembled marble, with more windows and arches than Hope could possible count. The years had taken a toll however, vines and cracks crawled up the walls, it looked destitute and abandoned compared to the lively Salvatore house that Hope was used to. She sucked in a deep breath and shifted back, so she was standing completely naked staring at her old family home. 

It was strange to think of the entirety of her father’s side of the family living here together, in fact it was nearly impossible to imagine them living anywhere together for a lengthy period of time without completely burning the place down. She’d known about this house for a while now but had never been, there was never a reason. The family that lived here weren’t the same people that she knew now, of the parts of her past she chose to dwell on this was not one of them. 

The wind whipped around her and she regretted her lack of clothes, not that she was cold, due to her tribrid nature it was very difficult for her to feel the cold, but she was very exposed. She doubted there would be anyone here, most people had forgotten about this old house and even if they remembered it they most definitely avoided it. It was quiet and still as she padded across the grass toward the main door, or at least what she assumed was the main door. 

It creaked open slowly with a push and for a second Hope feared that she wouldn’t be able to cross the threshold because of her vampire nature. It was a ridiculous thought, if the house was in the name of anyone in her family that was a vampire it meant that she could cross without permission and if it wasn’t that meant it was the property of the city and she could enter then as well. 

The first thing she notices is the very thick musty scent of the house, the next is the extreme size, her home in New Orleans was a large house but this mansion was triple its size. There was a grand staircase and a door that led to what Hope could only assume was a ballroom, pushed into a corner was a large table covered with a large sheet. Seizing the opportunity, Hope pulled the sheet away, grinning at the dramatics of it as it fluttered and fell to the ground, then she pulled it around her shoulders so it covered her body from the nonexistent eyes.

Now that she was actually in the house she had no idea what she needed to be looking for, it was strange walking around this large empty house that held her history, she should probably be feeling something right now, but instead she felt numb. That pulling sensation from earlier was still there, in fact it was stronger now than it was before.

Against her better judgement she decided to let it lead her up the stairs, the dusty white sheet dragging behind her like a cloak. She tried to soak in everything around her, some of the paintings had been left behind and were still hanging on the walls. Her dad had put those there, most likely, he was the only member of her family before her that cared about art and he had had this house built so he most likely picked what art that would go on the wall. 

She continued walking down the upstairs hallways, wandering aimlessly and peering into empty rooms until she came upon a room that was overflowing with stuff. 

The walls were lined with books of every size shape and color, some were elegant and extravagant while others were falling apart at the seams, there was even a small section of scrolls tucked away into a top corner hiding in the shadows. Boxes filled with god knows what littered the room, so many that as she tried to make her way around them her sheet kept getting caught on the corners. This room felt right, she’s not sure why, there was no reason that she should believe that whatever answers she was looking for would be in this room, but it really felt like this was where she needed to be. 

A sudden movement broke the stillness that had surrounded her as a small bird took off from a shadow and flew straight out the door she just entered. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she jumped to the side. She pulled the sheet closer around her as she recognized the bird that just nearly gave her a heart attack, it was a Starling. 

Her grandmother’s chosen bird and known spies. 

Esther was here, Hope didn’t know where and she didn’t know how but she knew she was here. Esther was the strange force pulling her here, even though it had been a part of her plan to come here all along, her grandmother wanted her here for some reason. Whatever plans Hope had she was sure that Esther had some of her own. How was she going to contact her was her main issue, because no matter the presence she had here she was still dead. 

Ghosts were not a new concept to Hope but that didn’t mean that she enjoyed them. She’d encountered many ghosts throughout her young life and they were almost  always hostile to her, but now she was capable of taking care of herself. If her grandmother was looking for a fight she would find one, but something about this didn’t feel threatening to her. That’s not to say that she was comfortable, she definitely was not. She was wearing next to nothing in an old abandoned mansion where she was probably going to meet and communicate with the ghost of her dead grandmother, uneasy didn’t quite cover what she was feeling. 

Hope sucked in the musty air through her nose trying to calm her nerves. She started looking through the boxes, examining the books and trinkets that filled the room. As she was doing so, however, she noticed a strange breeze and smell that began to fill the room. The wind caused goosebumps to erupt across her skin as she tried to place the familiar smell. 

It was earthy with a sharpness to it… almost burnt? That was it, burnt. Incense. But there was no incense burning in the room, or anywhere else in the house that she had been. The thick smell started to overwhelm her, her senses were muddled and Hope suddenly found it very hard to focus or to keep her eyes open. The book she was holding slipped and hit the ground with a bang. 

There was a heaviness to her body that was pulling her slowly to the ground. In the back of her mind she realized that something was wrong, this shouldn’t be happening. But before she could do anything about it her grip went slack on the sheet and she fell to the ground. 

This was not the kind of sleep that Hope was accustomed to. She felt like she was floating and falling in the darkness all at the same time. She waited for the nightmare she had become so used to over the last few months to take hold but strangely it never did. Instead when she finally pried her eyes open it was like she was completely awake but in a different place. Things were sharp and clear unlike every other dream Hope had.

It was the same forest. Tall dark trees, the onslaught of birds, and the powerful bonfire. But for the first time Hope was in control of the dream. She waited for the birds to swarm like they normally do and for Esther to appear, but they never did. Instead she just seemed to pop into existence by the fire across the clearing from her. Hope took a moment just to watch her, examine her, it was strange that Hope could see herself in this woman that had had a very little part of her life. Esther was the only other member of her family that had the same red hair as Hope, the same blue eyes that she recognized as her father’s and her own. It was the only proof she had that this woman was related to her at all, considering the way her grandmother had treated her as a child. 

She forced her feet to bring her closer. The heat of the fire was pushing her away but she fought against it. “Hello child,” Esther said and the sound of her voice startled Hope. Throughout this entire thing she had never actually heard her grandmother speak, the smoothness of her unplaceable accent was shocking. 

“Hello,” Hope countered, “ You’ve been wanting to speak to me,” with what little plan she had Hope didn’t actually know how to speak to this woman. Yes she was her granddaughter, but they did not know each other and Hope was not here to rekindle a familial relationship. 

“Yes, but you have not been making it easy for me.” 

Hope raised an eyebrow,” I wasn’t aware that I was doing anything,” everything blurred for a moment before sharpening again. It became clear to Hope that her metabolism was too fast for whatever Esther had drugged her with to hold her under for much longer. Words piled up, ready to spill from her lips but she restrained herself and managed to keep her composure. 

“When you realized that I was trying to contact you I assumed you would have tried harder to talk to me,” Hope couldn’t get a good read on her grandmother. She was used to the strange way her family interacted and behaved but there was something different about Esther. 

Hope absentmindedly racked her fingers through her hair,” What do you want from me?” she asked purposefully not reacting to the jab. Maybe if she could gage what Esther wanted from her she could figure out how to use it to her advantage. 

Esther turned so she was fully facing her now. Power radiated from her, but Hope radiated it right back. “ I imagine it is the same reason you came here tonight Hope,” she gave a pointed look that put her on edge and paused just long enough for Hope’s skin to crawl,” The gemini twins.” 

The dreamscape swirled dangerously and Hope didn’t know if it was caused by her or Esther but she had to think it was her. Whatever control she’d held onto was dissipating fast and was accelerated by the mention of her girlfriend. What did Esther know about Josie? What could she want with Josie? Or Lizzie for that matter? Hope started to fight against her body to stay asleep.

“Relax child I only wish to help,” Esther said, noticing their fraying reality. 

“Why would you want to help them,” Hope shot back. Every paranoid bone in her body was singing and screaming simultaneously. She fought against the noise. 

“I want to help them because they are important to you,” she said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. But it didn’t make any sense to Hope, Esther never cared for her, she had been a pawn to be given away or killed whenever necessary. Nothing in her past could allow her to believe that her grandmother could be doing something simply for Hope’s sake. 

“You expect me to believe that you went through all the work to get here and contact me and you want nothing in return,” sarcasm dripped from her words, it was very clear that she was not buying this,” and how are you even here anyway?” 

Esther did a much better job of controlling her emotions than Hope did, she answered all of the questions that were being thrown at her with patience and ease. “You’ve lived here a long time Hope,” She started,” and I’ve been here the entire time  watching you grow up.” A tingle ran up her spine at the thought of Esther watching her her entire life. It was creepy but she decided to see where she was going with this, “ watching you grow has made me happy, happier than I’ve been in a long time, it’s given me hope that our family could be something more than monsters again.” 

That’s all they were to Esther, monsters of her own creation, the creatures that went bump in the night. She fixated on that word. It had been following her around her entire life, making it stick out to her in most situations. 

Monster. Abomination. Miracle. 

She forced all these thoughts to the back of her mind where they normally lived,” What does that have to do with the twins?” she ground out, clenching her teeth so tight that it pained her. The fire flickered out of existence next to them, leaving the dreamscape darkened and melting away around her. 

“Josie makes you happy.” she stated. Hope didn’t like hearing her girlfriend's name on Esther’s lips. She’d come here with the intention of getting Esther to help her with the twins’ situation but she hated that she was one step ahead of her even now. “Sense she makes you happy I want to help you,” until then Hope had kept her face neutral but she squinted at that comment, “because believe me when I say that without my help there will be no saving them.” 

In that moment Hope would have given anything to stay asleep and continue this conversation. She would give anything to save Josie, and if Esther believed that she could do that then Hope sure as hell wanted to listen to her. Hope might not trust her grandmother but there was no doubt that she was a powerful and competent witch with over a thousand years of experience on her, she knew what she was talking about when it came to magic. 

The dream dropped away almost as suddenly as it had appeared and Hope found herself once again sitting on the floor of the library in the mansion. She stood and pulled the sheet back around her. On the floor next to her was a large leather bound book with browning pages. It hadn’t been there before she fell asleep, could it have fallen from a shelf? Flipping the cover open, she recognized it as a grimoire, one of her grandmother’s grimoires. The breeze that she had become so familiar with came back and leafed through the pages like it had a mind of its own. When it settled the pages landed on a spell that Hope was unfamiliar with. It was strange and ancient, but she had no doubt that Esther wanted her to find it. She was exhausted that night to examine the spell then, so she ripped the pages out to be brought back to the school with her. 

She was unsure of how much time had passed but her body ached in a way she was unfamiliar with as she dragged herself back to the school. The moon was considerably lower than when she left on her run earlier that night, even the stars seemed dimmer. Whatever she had been drugged with had taken a toll on her system and her body felt like it was being pulled in a million different directions. Her bones ached and trembled as she shifted for the run back to the school. 

The school was peacefully quiet and still when she returned. Hope couldn’t handle any more excitement or stress tonight. Thoughts of Josie swirled through her mind. Her girlfriend was clearly distressed earlier that evening when they were together, she hadn’t ended things between them, but they were definitely in an uncertain place. 

Maybe this could be the answer the Saltzmans had been searching for for nearly seventeen years. 

She’d done all that she could for tonight, however, all that was left was to sleep. She’d managed her way to her room, nearly unconscious on her feet as she crawled into bed, praying for a dreamless sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school has been absolutely ending me right now but i'm trying to keep updating for you guys. any and all feedback is appreciated and enjoyed

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!!! I am so excited to share this story with you. It is my first so I'm sorry for any mistakes, any and all feedback is appreciated. I hope yall enjoy.


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